When was malham cove formed

The microclimate of the grykes is more humid and slightly warmer than on the pavement itself resulting in a different range of vegetation. At the top of the limestone the vegetation changes - look out for the delicate, yellow Rock Rose, and the herbaceous Thyme. These plants love dry, stony conditions, little soil and limestone. A good place to see this landscape is around Grassington. The National Park is not a totally natural place - the countryside has been created by the activities of people making a living from the land for thousands of years.

The geology of the Yorkshire Dales is sedimentary rocks from the Carboniferous Age. This appears on the surface as limestone pavement. Since then the whole area has been lifted above sea level and the overlying rocks worn away by natural processes.

The quarrying industry in the Dales dates back hundreds of years. Stone from small local pits was used to create the distinctive Dales landscape of dry-stone walls, field barns, farmsteads and villages. But quarrying today is a far cry from cottage industry times - it is big business in the Dales. Formed along the line of the Middle Craven Fault, it has been eroded backwards from the line of the fault by the action of water and ice over millions of years. Over the last one and a half million years, Malham was probably covered at least three times with huge sheets of ice.

The valley was formed at the end of the last ice age when the ground was frozen. The frozen ground resulted in the meltwater from the ice sheet forming a large which eroded the valley that we see today. When the climate warmed around 12, years ago the ground thawed and the river in the valley disappeared underground leaving the valley dry.

Access: Open all year, a good footpath leads from the road to the foot of the Cove and steps lead up to the Limestone Pavement on the top of the cove note NO parking is available at this location you must park in the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority Car Park and walk through the Village.

Size: approximately 80 metres high and metres wide a foot high by foot long curved crag. Malham Cove has been the source of inspiration for many works of Art and Literature and features in many walking Books.