river, Isle of Wight (Wight, Isle of), England. The Medina drains much of the island, rising on the high sandstone ground near the south coast and flowing 12 miles (19 km) north through a gap in the chalk ridge that forms the backbone of the island. Past Newport at the head of its estuary it flows into The Solent on the English Channel. There Cowes and East Cowes lie on either side of its mouth.