YOUR DALES ROCKS

Your Dales Rocks is one of a series of Local Geodiversity Action Plans (LGAPs) being produced across the country. It aims to highlight the diverse nature of rocks within the area and how they have helped shape the landscape that we see today, thereby making them more understandable and accessible. The project will then work towards the creation of a framework to assist in the interpretation, protection and conservation of regionally and nationally important geological sites.

Project Area

The area covered by the Project includes two closely interrelated geological zones the Askrigg Block in the north (which underlies much of the Yorkshire Dales National Park) and, in the south, the Craven Basin. As well as the Yorkshire Dales National Park it includes Nidderdale AONB, the northern part of the Forest of Bowland AONB, and the remaining part of Craven District between the national park and North Yorkshire County Council boundaries.

Limestone Pavement at Malham Cove

Geodiversity issues

It is a widely held popular view that geological features are ‘permanent’ and are not in need of the level of conservation afforded to biodiversity. In 1996, as part of the Natural Areas Project, English Nature identified a range of threats, to the Project area’s geodiversity, which included:

• the loss of limestone pavement
• damage to the underground cave systems through both internal and external activities
• the loss of quarry exposures through landfill, and
• degradation of sites due to vegetation growth and natural processes.

Natural Areas

English Nature has identified distinct Natural Areas within England. These are holistic units of land which have similar related natural features including geology, biodiversity, soils and landscape, and are used as a basis at a regional level for conservation management.

The Your Dales Rocks Project Area includes seven natural areas with the Yorkshire Dales Natural Area covering the majority of the area. The Yorkshire Dales Natural Area has been described (in English Nature Research Report 158 Earth heritage conservation in England: a Natural Areas perspective) as having outstanding geodiversity (the highest possible category). The report also states that in the area Earth heritage objectives should be of very high priority.

Further details of the Natural Areas are available from English Nature.
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Your Dales Rocks Natural Areas

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Local Authorities

Watlowes dry valley

Designated Areas

 

 

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