chine

thumb|Chine forming on soft cliffs at Compton, Isle of Wight thumb|Shanklin Chine, circa 1910. A chine () is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is used in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight—to describe such topographical features. The term 'bunny' is sometimes used to describe a chine in Hampshire. The term chine is also used in some Vancouver suburbs in Canada to describe similar features.

The word chine derives from the Old English cinu, meaning 'a gorge, a ravine'.