Aire Gap

Last updated

Aire Gap
Sheep pasture near Cat Gill Wood - geograph.org.uk - 473446.jpg
Floor elevation179 metres (587 ft)
Lengthapprox 40 kilometres (25 mi)128 degrees
Widthapprox 20 kilometres (12 mi)
Depthaverage 300 metres (980 ft)
Geology
Type Glacial U-shaped
Age Carboniferous through Pleistocene
Geography
Location Craven District, North Yorkshire, England
Population centers(Settle), Hellifield, Gargrave, (Colne), Skipton, Sutton-in-Craven, Keighley
Borders on Craven Fault and north edge of South Pennines
Coordinates 54°0′0″N2°10′0″W / 54.00000°N 2.16667°W / 54.00000; -2.16667 Coordinates: 54°0′0″N2°10′0″W / 54.00000°N 2.16667°W / 54.00000; -2.16667  
Traversed by A65 road, "Little" North Western Railway, Leeds and Liverpool Canal

Aire Gap is a pass through the Pennines in England formed by geologic faults and carved out by glaciers. The term is used to describe a geological division, a travel route, or a location that is an entry into the Aire river valley.

Contents

Geology

Geologically the Aire Gap lies between the Craven Fault and the limestone uplands of the Yorkshire Dales to the north and the Forest of Bowland and the millstone grit moors of the South Pennines. [1] The South Pennines is the system between the Aire Gap and the Peak District. [2] The gap was formed by the dropping of the Craven Faults in the Carboniferous through Jurassic periods combined with glacial scouring by ice sheets in the Pleistocene Ice Age. The Aire Gap splits the Pennines into north and south by allying with the River Ribble. The Pennine chain is divided into two sections by the Aire Gap formed by the River Aire flowing south, a member of the Humber basin, and the Ribble flowing west and entering the Irish sea. [2]

Geography

The term Aire Gap is used in both Ribblesdale and Pendle to denote a hypsograph (watershed) between those rivers and Airedale. Two locations are so described:

Transport route

The Aire Gap's boundaries are only vaguely definable Map-Aire Gap England.png
The Aire Gap's boundaries are only vaguely definable

The Pennines form a natural barrier to east–west communications, but the Tyne Gap links Carlisle and Newcastle and the Aire Gap links Lancashire and Yorkshire. [5]

To walk the Pennine moors is "potentially dangerous if the weather is bad and you are ill equipped. If the cloud comes down you will need both a compass and a knowledge of how to use it."

— Jim Jarratt, 2006 [6]

Its extent is vague, a 19th-century author wrote:

"This depression is known as the Aire Gap, occasionally as the Skipton Gap, Skipton being at its eastern end and Hellifield at its western end",

—  Thomas Dunham Whitaker, Vicar of Whalley, 1878 [7]

The Aire Gap is of considerable strategic importance and historically Skipton Castle controlled the area. [8] Skipton is now considered more central to the Aire Gap than terminal.

Topography

Cross-section of the topography of England, coast to coast. The red line shows the altitudes at the bottom of the valley called the Craven Basin or the Aire Gap. These contrast with the heights of the mountains of the Yorkshire Dales National Park to the north shows as a blue line, and also with the heights of the Forest of Bowland and the South Pennine Moors to the south marked as a yellow line. Craven and Aire-Gap altitudes graph.png
Cross-section of the topography of England, coast to coast. The red line shows the altitudes at the bottom of the valley called the Craven Basin or the Aire Gap. These contrast with the heights of the mountains of the Yorkshire Dales National Park to the north shows as a blue line, and also with the heights of the Forest of Bowland and the South Pennine Moors to the south marked as a yellow line.

The treeless moorland gives no shelter and modern Pennine transport can find it a formidable barrier when roads are blocked by snow for several days. The Aire Gap route is a sheltered passageway, and inhabited along its length. The Aire Gap was of topographic significance for the historic North of England providing a low-altitude pass through "the backbone of England". It was the Pennine transport corridor from Cumbria and Strathclyde to the Vale of York. Neolithic long-distance trade is proved by many finds of stone axes from central Cumbria.

To the north stand limestone hills of up to 736 m (2,415 ft) above mean sea level and to its south lie bleak sandstone moors, that above 275 m (902 ft) grow little but bracken. [9]

The builders of the "Little" North Western Railway sought the lowest course through the Aire Gap and found that to be 166 m (545 ft) near Giggleswick scar at 54°04′27″N2°19′05″W / 54.074167°N 2.318056°W / 54.074167; -2.318056 (The lowest pass at Giggleswick Scar) , and 160 m (525 ft) just east of Hellifield at 54°00′00″N2°10′00″W / 54.00000°N 2.16667°W / 54.00000; -2.16667 (Aire Gap, the pass between Ribblesdale and Airedale) a point labelled Aire Gap on maps. [4]

There is a lower pass from Airedale to Ribblesdale near Thornton-in-Craven of 144 m (472 ft) at 53°56′03″N2°09′46″W / 53.93413°N 2.16276°W / 53.93413; -2.16276 (The Thornton-in-Lonsdale pass between Airedale and Ribblesdale) that was used by the Romans who built a road.

The nearest alternative pass is Stainmore Gap (Eden-Tees) [10] to the north that climbs to 409 m (1,342 ft) and its climate is classed as sub-arctic in places. [11]

Related Research Articles

Airedale

Airedale is a geographic area in Yorkshire, England, corresponding to the river valley or dale of the River Aire.

Pennines Range of uplands in Northern England

The Pennines, also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a more-or-less continuous range of hills and mountains running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, and North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commonly described as the "backbone of England", the range stretches northwards from the Peak District at the southern end, through the South Pennines, the Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines to the Tyne Gap, which separates the range from the Cheviot Hills across the Anglo-Scottish border. South of the Aire Gap is a western spur into east Lancashire, comprising the Rossendale Fells, West Pennine Moors and the Bowland Fells in North Lancashire. The Howgill Fells and Orton Fells in Cumbria are sometimes considered to be Pennine spurs to the west of the range. The Pennines are an important water catchment area with numerous reservoirs in the head streams of the river valleys.

Craven District Local authority area of North Yorkshire, England

Craven is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England centred on the market town of Skipton. In 1974, Craven District was formed as the merger of Skipton urban district, Settle Rural District and most of Skipton Rural District, all in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The population of the Local Authority area at the 2011 Census was 55,409. It comprises the upper reaches of Airedale, Wharfedale, Ribblesdale, and includes most of the Aire Gap and Craven Basin.

Cross Hills Village in North Yorkshire, England

Cross Hills is a village in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England that is situated halfway between Skipton and Keighley. The village is at the centre of a built-up area that includes the adjoining settlements of Glusburn, Kildwick, Eastburn and Sutton-in-Craven. Cross Hills is the newer part of the civil parish now called Glusburn and Cross Hills, historically known as Glusburn.

Pennine Way Long distance footpath in England

The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for 268 miles (431 km) from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border. The path runs along the Pennine hills, sometimes described as the "backbone of England". Although not the United Kingdom's longest National Trail, it is according to The Ramblers "one of Britain's best known and toughest".

A65 road

The A65 is a major road in England. It runs north west from Leeds in West Yorkshire via Kirkstall, Horsforth, Yeadon, Guiseley, Ilkley and Skipton, west of Settle, Ingleton and Kirkby Lonsdale before terminating at Kendal in Cumbria.

Pennine Bridleway

The Pennine Bridleway is a National Trail in Northern England.

Hebden, North Yorkshire Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Hebden is a village and civil parish in the Craven District of North Yorkshire, England, and one of four villages in the ecclesiastical parish of Linton. It lies near Grimwith Reservoir and Grassington, in Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. In 2011 it had a population of 246.

Ribblesdale A valley in North Yorkshire, England

Ribblesdale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in England. It is the dale or upper valley of the River Ribble in North Yorkshire. Towns and villages in Ribblesdale include Selside, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Stainforth, Langcliffe, Giggleswick, Settle, Long Preston and Hellifield. Below Hellifield the valley of the river is generally known as the Ribble Valley.

Elslack Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Elslack is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, close to the border with Lancashire and 4 miles west of Skipton. Thornton in Craven is nearby. The Tempest Arms is a large pub in the village, sited by the A56, which is popular with locals from the surrounding area. Elslack Moor, above the village, is crossed by the Pennine Way, though this does not visit the village itself.

South Pennines Region of moorland and hills in northern England

The South Pennines is a region of moorland and hill country in northern England lying towards the southern end of the Pennines. In the west it includes the Rossendale Valley and the West Pennine Moors. It is bounded by the Greater Manchester conurbation in the west and the Bowland Fells and Yorkshire Dales to the north. To the east it is fringed by the towns of West Yorkshire whilst to the south it is bounded by the Peak District. The rural South Pennine Moors constitutes both a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation.

The Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) is the campaign that is looking to reopen the Skipton to Colne railway line, as part of connecting the Lancashire town of Colne to the North Yorkshire town of Skipton. The line between them had been closed in 1970.

West Craven is an area in the east of Lancashire, England in the far northern part of the borough of Pendle. Historically the area was within the ancient county boundaries of Yorkshire and was administered as part of the Skipton Rural District of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974.

Craven Fault System Geological faulting across the Craven District of North Yorkshire, England

The Craven Fault System is the name applied by geologists to the group of crustal faults in the Pennines that form the southern edge of the Askrigg Block and which partly bounds the Craven Basin. Sections of the system's component faults which include the North, Middle and South Craven faults and the Feizor Fault are evident at the surface in the form of degraded faults scarps where Carboniferous Limestone abuts millstone grit. The fault system is approximately coincident with the southwestern edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the northeastern edge of the Bowland Fells.

The Denholme Clough Fault is a small fault located in Denholme, England. The fault is approximately 500 metres (1,600 ft) long. The fault has produced no appreciable earthquake history, but it is still subject to stresses that may cause it to slip. The maximum earthquake arising from a slip of this fault has been estimated to be below magnitude 3. The Denholme Clough Fault is part of the Pennine anticline and is partially visible from the surface.

The Aire Valley Fault is an inactive strike slip fault in Yorkshire, England. It is considered a northwestern continuation of the Morley-Campsall Fault Belt and extends northwards from the Huddersfield and Wakefield area into the South Craven fault. It is connected to the Denholme Clough Fault.

Eller Beck River in North Yorkshire, England

The Eller Beck is a small river in North Yorkshire, England, that flows through the town of Skipton and is a tributary of the River Aire. Its channel was heavily modified to supply water to mills in the 18th and 19th centuries, and although all the mills have closed, the water now supplies power to the National Grid, generated by a turbine at High Corn Mill. The beck flows through several underground culverts in Skipton that contribute to the flood risk. To alleviate flooding in Skipton town centre, a scheme involving two flood water storage reservoirs was designed and eventually completed in 2017.

Dales High Way

A Dales High Way is a long-distance footpath in northern England. It is 90 miles (140 km) long and runs from Saltaire in West Yorkshire to Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, roughly parallel to the line of the Settle and Carlisle Railway.

Bell Busk Hamlet in North Yorkshire, England

Bell Busk is a hamlet situated in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. The hamlet is located at the southern end of Malhamdale where the nascent River Aire meets Otterburn Beck. The village is 7 miles (11 km) north west of Skipton and used to have a railway station on the line linking Skipton and Hellifield.

References

  1. ↑ The Yorkshire Dales website. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  2. 1 2 Encyclopædia Britannica
  3. ↑ Google Earth
  4. 1 2 Enter "Aire Gap, United Kingdom" on Bing Maps
  5. ↑ The Met office
  6. ↑ "The Watersheds Walk" by Jim Jarratt. Retrieved September 2010.
  7. ↑ T. D. Whitaker, Vicar of Whalley. The History and Antiquities of the Deanery of Craven, 1878. Republished 1973 by E. J. Morten and the Craven Herald, ISBN   978-0-901598-71-4
  8. ↑ The Yorkshire Dales website
  9. ↑ page 4 and page 5, Marginal Upland Grazing Sutton Moor, Domesday Reloaded, BBC 1986
  10. ↑ Shop for OS Maps, Create & Share Routes with getamap | Ordnance Survey Leisure Ordnance Survey Explorer Map, OL41, Forest of Bowland and Ribblesdale ISBN   978-0-319-24071-7
  11. ↑ "Regional mapped climate averages". The Met Office. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.