The outcroppings of the Cretaceous strata in the valley of the Medway, the great quarries in the lower beds of the greensand for the much-used Kentish ragstone, the extensive chalk-pits at Burham and other places, the pottery clay-pits and the numerous brickfields, afford excellent facilities for the observation of the geological structure of Maidstone and the surrounding country.

By taking the road from Rochester, through Maidstone, to Linton, the outcrops of the Chalk and its subordinate beds are passed over in succession across their line of strike.

The chalk hills, are covered, at various places, with a red, tenacious (Post-Tertiary or Diluvial) clay, in which great quantities of flint nodules are buried.