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PENNINE CHAIN

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Originally appearing in Volume V21, Page 105 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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PENNINE See also:

CHAIN , an extensive See also:system of hills in the See also:north of See also:England. The name is probably derived from the See also:Celtic See also:pen, high, appearing in the See also:Apennines of See also:Italy and the Pennine See also:Alps. The See also:English system is comprised within the following See also:physical boundaries. On the N. a well-marked depression, falling below 500 ft. in height, between the upper valleys of the Irthing and the See also:south See also:Tyne, from which it is known as the Tyne See also:Gap, separates the Pennines from the system of the Cheviots. On the N.E., in See also:Northumberland, the foothills extend to the North See also:Sea. On the N.W. the See also:Eden valley forms See also:part of the boundary between the Pennines and the hills of the See also:Lake See also:District, and the See also:division is continued by the upper valley of the Lune. For the See also:rest the physical boundaries consist of extensive lowlands—on the E. the vale of See also:York, on the W. the coastal See also:belt of See also:Lancashire and the See also:plain of See also:Cheshire, and on the S. and S.E. the valley of the See also:river See also:Trent. The Pennines thus See also:cover parts of See also:Cumberland, See also:Westmorland and Northumberland, Lancashire and See also:Yorkshire, Cheshire and See also:Derbyshire, while the See also:southern foothills extend into See also:Staffordshire and See also:Nottinghamshire. The Pennine system is hardly a range, but the hills are in effect broken up into numerous See also:short ranges by valleys cut back into them in every direction, for the Pennines See also:form a north and south See also:watershed which determines the course of all the larger See also:rivers in the north of England. The chain is divided into two sections by a gap formed by the river See also:Aire flowing See also:east, a member of the See also:Humber See also:basin, and the Ribble flowing See also:west and entering the Irish Sea through a wide See also:estuary south of See also:Morecambe See also:Bay. The See also:northern See also:section of the Pennine system is broader and generally higher than the southern. Its western slope is generally short and steep, the eastern See also:long and See also:gradual ; this distinction applying to the system at large.

In the north-west a See also:

sharp escarpment overlooks the Eden valley. This is the nearest approach to a true See also:mountain range in the Pennine system and indeed in England. It is known as the See also:Cross See also:Fell Edge from its highest point, Cross Fell (2930 ft.), to the south-east of which a height of 278o ft. is reached in Milburn See also:Forest, and of 2591 ft. in iblickle Fell. This range is marked off eastward by the upper valleys of the south Tyne and the See also:Tees, and, from the See also:divide between these two, See also:branch ranges See also:spring eastward, separated by the valley of the See also:Wear, at the See also:head of which are Burnhope Seat (2452 ft.) and Dead Stones (2326 ft.). In the northern range the highest point is Middlehope See also:Moor (2206 ft.), and in the southern. See also:Chapel Fell See also:Top (2294 ft.). It is thus seen that the higher elevations, like the steeper slopes, See also:lie towards the west. Cross Fell Edge terminates southward at a high pass (about 1400 ft.) between the head of the Belah, a tributary of the Eden, and the Greta, a tributary of the Tees. This pass is followed by the Tebay and See also:Barnard See also:Castle See also:line of the North Eastern railway. The hills between the Lune valley on the west and the headstream of the Eden and the Ribble on the east are broken into masses by the dales of tributaries to the first-named river—here the See also:chief elevations are See also:Wild See also:Boar Fell (2323 ft.), Whernside (2414 ft.), and Ingleborough (2373 ft.). The Ribble and Eden valleys afford a route for the See also:main line of the Midland railway. Well-marked eastward ranges occur here between Swaledale and the river Ure, which traverses the celebrated See also:Wensleydale (q.v.), and between the Ure and Wharfe.

In the first the highest points are High Seat (2328 ft.) and See also:

Great Shunner Fell (2340 ft.); and in the second Buckden See also:Pike (2302 ft.) and Great Whernside (2310 ft.). There is then a See also:general southerly slope to the Aire gap. The southern section of the system calls for less detailed See also:notice. Heights exceeding 2000 ft. are rare. The centre of the section is the well-known See also:Peak (q.v.) of Derbyshire. Both here and through-out the system the summits of the hills are high uplands, rounded or nearly See also:flat, consisting of heathery, peaty moorland or See also:hill pasture. The See also:profile of the Pennines is thus not striking as a See also:rule, but much See also:fine scenery is found in the narrow dales throughout; Wensleydale, Wharfedale and other Yorkshire dales being no less famous than the dales of Derbyshire. In the parts about See also:Settle below Ingle-See also:borough, in Derbyshire, and elsewhere, remarkable caverns and subterranean watercourses in the See also:limestone have been explored to great depths. In Ingleborough itself are the Ingleborough See also:cave, near Clapham; the chasm of Gaping Ghyll, over 350 ft. deep; Helln or Hellan Pot, a vast See also:swallow-hole 359 ft. deep, only exceeded by See also:Row-. ten Pot (365 ft.) near Whernside; and many others. Malham See also:Tarn, near the head of the Aire, is drained by a stream which quickly disappears below ground, and the Aire itself is fed by a See also:brook gushing forth in full stream at the See also:foot of the cliffs of Malham See also:Cove. A notable example in Derbyshire is the disappearance of the Wye into Plunge Hole, after which it traverses See also:Poole's Cave, See also:close to See also:Buxton. There may also be noted the remarkable See also:series of caverns near See also:Castleton (q.v.).

Lakes are few and small in the Pennine district, but in some of the upland valleys, such as those of the Nidd and the Etherow, reservoirs have been formed for the See also:

supply of the populous manufacturing districts of Lancashire and the West See also:Riding of York-See also:shire, which lie on either flank of the system between the Aire gap and the Peak.

End of Article: PENNINE CHAIN

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