<P> The Isle of Wight Festival was a very large rock festival that took place near Afton Down, West Wight in 1970, following two smaller concerts in 1968 and 1969 . The 1970 show was notable both as one of the last public performances by Jimi Hendrix and for the number of attendees, reaching by some estimates 600,000 . The festival was revived in 2002 in a different format, and is now an annual event . </P> <P> The oldest records that give a name for the Isle of Wight are from the Roman Empire: it was then called Vectis or Vecta in Latin, Iktis or Ouiktis in Greek . From the Anglo - Saxon period Latin Vecta, Old English Wiht and Old Welsh forms Gueid and Guith are recorded . In Domesday Book it is Wit; the modern Welsh name is Ynys Wyth (ynys = island). These are all variant forms of the same name, possibly Celtic in origin . It may mean "place of the division", because the island divides the two arms of the Solent . </P> <P> The Isle of Wight is situated between the Solent and the English Channel, is roughly rhomboid in shape, and covers an area of 150 sq mi (380 km). Slightly more than half, mainly in the west, is designated as the Isle of Wight Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The island has 100 sq mi (258 km) of farmland, 20 sq mi (52 km) of developed areas, and 57 miles (92 km) of coastline . Its landscapes are diverse, leading to its oft - quoted description as "England in miniature". </P> <P> West Wight is predominantly rural, with dramatic coastlines dominated by the chalk downland ridge, running across the whole island and ending in the Needles stacks . The southwestern quarter is commonly referred to as the Back of the Wight, and has a unique character . The highest point on the island is St Boniface Down in the south east, which at 791 feet (241 m) is a marilyn . The most notable habitats on the rest of the island are probably the soft cliffs and sea ledges, which are scenic features, important for wildlife, and internationally protected . </P>

Channel that separates isle of wight from mainland