Scafells

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Scafells
Evening Scafells from Wastwater - geograph.org.uk - 122825.jpg
View of the Scafells from Wastwater
Highest point
Elevation max. 978 m (3,209 ft) at Scafell Pike
Coordinates 54°28′16″N3°08′38″W / 54.471°N 3.144°W / 54.471; -3.144
Geography
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Scafells
Cumbria, England
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Scafells
Scafells (England)
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Scafells
Scafells (the United Kingdom)
Parent range Cumbrian Mountains
Geology
Age of rock -
Mountain type Caldera
Last eruption +400 MYA

The Scafells, or Scafell Massif, [1] are a range of fells in the Cumbrian Mountains of England, made up of the remains of a caldera volcano. Fells in the range include Broad Crag, Ill Crag, Scafell, and Scafell Pike, England's tallest mountain. Great End, Lingmell and Slight Side are also usually included within the definition. These hills form part of the Southern Fells.

Contents

The Scafell range as seen looking west from Crinkle Crags. (Interactive labels.) Annotated Scafell range.jpgSlight Side (762m)Scafell East ButtressEsk Crag or Buttress (c. 750m)Sca Fell (964m)Mickledore (c.840m)South Summit (c. 950m)Scafell Pike (978m)Broad Crag (934m)Ill Crag (935m)Great End (910m)Click hyperlink or button to expand
The Scafell range as seen looking west from Crinkle Crags. (Interactive labels.)

Geology

Geologically, parts of the Scafell massif are the remnants of a volcano that erupted in the Ordovician period over 400 million years ago. This volcano, geologically described as a caldera and an "inverse stratovolcano", as well as all other volcanoes of the Lake District, are long since extinct. [2]

The volcano is an example of a piecemeal caldera whose collapse, in contrast with a wholesale piston-like subsidence, occurred in a piece-by-piece fashion along faults and whose measurements suggest formation from an eruption of a VEI-7 magnitude, comparable to the Minoan eruption at Santorini in the Greek Aegean in c. 1600 BCE. The Scafell dacite, between Little Narrowcove and Aaron Crags, is a lava dome formed during the last stages of volcanic activity at Scafell massif. [2]

English Munros

An English Munro (or Furth) is a mountain summit that exceeds 3,000 feet (914.4 m) and has a prominence of more than 30 metres (98 feet). In England there are six peaks that meet that criteria and four of those are part of the Scafell Massif. [lower-alpha 1]

Peak Height
(m)
Prominence
(m)
OSI Grid
Reference
Highest
Class
Scafell Pike   978912 NY215072 P600
Sca Fell 964133 NY207065 Hewitt
Ill Crag 93557 NY223073 Hewitt
Broad Crag 93452 NY218075 Hewitt

(‡) Have the prominence of over 150 metres (492 ft) to qualify as a "Real Munro".

Accident black spots

Mountain rescue post, Mickledore Mountain Rescue Post, Mickledore - geograph.org.uk - 1330089.jpg
Mountain rescue post, Mickledore

The traverse between England's two highest summit's via Mickledore col requires considerable care and caution. The route via Broad Stand is best avoided because it is dangerous. [3] There is a safer but longer route available via Foxes Tarn.

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Crag Hill is a mountain in the North Western part of the English Lake District. It was formerly known as Eel Crag; however, the Ordnance Survey now marks Eel Crag as referring to the northern crags of the fell. It is not to be confused with another Crag Hill lying on the border of North Yorkshire.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watson's Dodd</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slight Side</span> Mountain in the English Lake District, Cumbria, England

Slight Side is a fell in the English Lake District it stands 25 kilometres east southeast of the town of Whitehaven and reaches a height of 762 metres (2,499 ft). Slight Side lies at the south western edge of the Scafell Massif, a four-kilometre-long crescent of high ground which includes the highest ground in England. The fells names derives from the Old Norse language and means "The mountain shieling with the level pastures", it is a combination of the Norse words "sletta" and "saetr". With a shieling meaning a shepherds hut or a mountain pasture used in the summer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Fells</span>

The Southern Fells are a part of the Cumbrian Mountains in the Lake District of England. Including Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England, they occupy a broad area to the south of Great Langdale, Borrowdale and Wasdale. High and rocky towards the centre of the Lake District, the Southern Fells progressively take on a moorland character toward the south-west. In the south-east are the well-known Furness Fells, their heavily quarried flanks rising above Coniston Water.

References

  1. Gannon, Paul (April 2009). Rock Trails Lakeland - A Hillwalker's Guide to the Geology & Scenery. Pesda Press. ISBN   9781906095154 . Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 Geology of England and Wales, pp118ff
  3. "Broad Stand – There is no easy route direct from Scafell to Scafell Pike!". Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team . Retrieved 1 December 2023.

Notes

  1. In Scotland there are 442 peaks that meet that criteria. See Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles > Murdos.