one of Great Britain's best-known open spaces, consisting of a plateaulike area covering about 300 square miles (775 square km), in the county of Wiltshire, England. The largely treeless tract, drained to the south by the River Avon and its tributaries, is developed upon chalk. Its northern edge is defined by an escarpment overlooking the Vale of Pewsey. Its other boundaries are less clear. The area was settled in early times and abounds in prehistoric monuments, of which the best known is Stonehenge. A large part of the plain is used for military exercises, and one of the largest army camps, founded in 1902, is situated at Tidworth.