The White Downs were a series of low hills which formed the western border of the Shire.

The White Downs were the old border of the Shire as the lands were granted to the Hobbits by the King of Arnor, Argeleb II. In it were built the Hobbit towns of Little Delving and Michel Delving, the capital of the Shire where the mayor lived.

In the aftermath of the War of the Ring at the end of the Third Age, Sharkey's men had turned Michel Delving into a prison, where many important Hobbits were held.

The White Downs formed the west border of the Shire as a whole, and of the Westfarthing.

After the return of the King (Aragorn Elessar), the Shire was extended past the White Downs and the Far Downs beyond all the way to the Tower Hills, and the area beyond became known as the Westmarch.