-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(not chosen)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
The geology of the Yorkshire Dales is perfect for supporting waterfalls. The spectacular landscape is a result of
the area's geololical history with much of the Yorkshire Dales National Park covered in carboniferous limestone
which is interspersed with shales, gritstones and sandstones. Natural landshift which created the topography of
the area during the great ice age and subsequent erosion of the softer stones has caused rivers and becks to form
waterfalls all over the dales. Some are little more than a few inches high, many less than the height of an adult
person. Yet there are many many spoectacular waterfalls to be found.
At Linton Falls near Grassington the River Wharfe cascades through channels in a discontinuity in the limestone
bedrock - one of the easternmost features of the Craven Fault.
The Craven Fault
The Craven Fault is actually a series of geological fault lines (including the North Craven Fault, the Mid Craven Fault,
and the South Craven Fault) which run along the southern and western edges of the Yorkshire Dales national park,
formed at the underlying boundary of the Askrigg Block.
Along the length of the Craven Fault (which generally defines the boundary between the limestone uplands of the higher
dales and the gentler scenery to the south and west) there are some quite spectacular limestone features, including
the geological unconformity and waterfall at Thornton Force near Ingleton (pictured above), with similar examples of
unconformity to be seen near Clapham and Austwick.
Further along the fault lines more limestone features can be seen at Feizor and Giggleswick Scar, Attermire Scar near
Settle, Malham Cove and Gordale Scar near Malham in Malhamdale, Linton Falls in lower Wharfedale, and the sinister gorge of Trollers Gill above Skyredale near the surface termination of the fault at the Skyreholme Anticline.
Carboniferous Limestone
This is a well-cemented rock of low porosity, and occurring in thick beds. As they have prominent vertical joints,
they can be easily spilt into blocks for use as building stone.
It crops out, for example, in the Peak District, Mendips and Yorkshire Dales. It contains most of the country’s
potholes and natural cave systems. Mostly, Carboniferous limestone is either a fine calcite mud, precipitated from
warm shallow seas, or a shelly limestone, formed by fragments of animals such as corals. It is a very tough rock,
and is commonly used as roadstone, but can also be used for cement making because it is often quite pure, and as a
source of calcium carbonate for the chemical industry.
Types of Waterfalls
You may have heard two other terms used to define a waterfall: cascade and cataract. Although they both describe
waterfalls, they mean slightly different things. A cascade is the most common term and usually describes a waterfall
with any kind of irregular surface underneath the water. It flows down in a fairly low volume, and several stages
can make up one large waterfall. A cataract, on the other hand, is a waterfall with larger, more powerful volumes of
water and is typically accompanied by rapids.
Now that we've explained the terminology, let's examine some different types of waterfalls. The most basic and
recognizable type of waterfall is the plunge waterfall. This happens simply when a river spills out water over a
ledge, and the water descends vertically without coming into contact with any of the rock on the way down -- it
just crashes right into the plunge pool. This type of waterfall would take longer to retreat, since the hard rock
over which the water is flowing is more resistant to erosion.
A block or sheet waterfall is formed from a wide river -- when the water spills over the edge, it looks like a big
sheet, especially if the flow isn't broken by any stray rocks protruding from the back-wall. A block waterfall is
usually wider than it is high. Similar in nature is the curtain waterfall, which is simply taller than it is wide,
but still looks like a long sheet.
Horsetail waterfalls are in constant or semi-constant contact with rocks, which may erode faster than other types
because of constant runoff.
Because the geography of the land is never limited, a waterfall can be one of these things or have any combination
of them. For instance, a punchbowl waterfall might descend into a small plunge pool, but the plunge pool might
quickly lead to another ledge where the water descends as a plunge waterfall. These waterfalls are generally called
tiered. There are seemingly endless possibilities, which is probably the biggest reason people look for and are
interested in new waterfalls.
A punchbowl waterfall happens when water from a wider river flows through a narrower area and out into the plunge
pool -- the water appears to punch through the thin space and into the open.
Punchbowl .
To log this cache upload a photo of you/GPSr with the falls in the background and a photo of water erosion in the
rocks and E-Mail me the answers to the following questions
1) What cause's the holes in the limestone.
2) From the information on the log page tell me two type's of Waterfall you can see at Linton falls.
3) Estimate the height of the falls
Any logs with no photo may be deleted
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)