- This article is about a geographical feature in Somerset, England. For the game of the same name, see Cheddar Gorge (game).
Cheddar Gorge is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom, near the village of Cheddar in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar Caves , where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton at 9,000 years old, Cheddar Man, was found. Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithic era (12,000 - 13,000 years ago) have been found. Another feature of the gorge is Jacob's Ladder, a set of 274 steps carved in the side of the gorge. The gorge is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a tourist site.
The rocks of the gorge consist of a Carboniferous Limestone layer on top of an Old Red Sandstone layer. The river at the bottom of the gorge is the Cheddar Yeo, and it rises from the ground in the gorge, in Gough's Cave. The maximum depth of the gorge is 113 m (370 ft).
See also