SwaleArticle Free Pass Swale, borough (district), administrative
and historic county of Kent, southeastern England, on the south
side of the Thames estuary at its mouth. Swale borough includes
the Isle of Sheppey, 9 miles (14 km) long and 4 miles (6 km)
wide, to the north. The island is separated from the mainland
(south) by The Swale, a branch of the River Medway estuary,
which gives its name to the district. Land on either side of The
Swale is marshland, with both salt marsh and freshwater aquatic
vegetation, that extends the length of the district. Population
centres on the Isle of Sheppey are concentrated on a range of
low cliffs along the northern coast bordering the Thames
estuary. The estuarine marshland of the mainland ascends
southward into a highly fertile cultivated zone that borders on
the chalk uplands of the North Downs. Agricultural produce grown
there includes hops, apples, and cherries. The heavy-
industrialized ports of Queenborough-in-Sheppey and Sheerness on
the Isle of Sheppey have deepwat