Pennines
The Pennines the main English highland area. Running south to north along the centre of England from the north Midlands to the far north of England at the Tyne Gap, which separates them from the Cheviot Hills to the north. As such, they are referred to as the 'backbone of Britain'.
By far the largest range of hills in England, the Pennines traverse nine counties (from north to south): Northumberland, Cumberland, County Durham, Westmorland, Yorkshire (North and West Ridings), Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire.
The highest hill in the range is Cross Fell in Cumberland (2930 feet). The only higher mountains in England are in the nearby Lake District. Other notable hills of the Pennines are Kinder Scout (Derbyshire), Ingleborough Hill and Pen-y-Ghent (Yorkshire) and Whernside (Yorkshire).
The central Pennines are formed from the Jurassic limestone of the Alston Tilt Block. In addition to typical karst landscape of scarps and limestone pavements on the surface, there are many caves in the Yorkshire Dales,[1] including Britain's longest cave system, the Easegill System, and its deepest single shaft at Gaping Ghyll. There are also caves in the Peak District.[2]
Definition
The Pennine chain stretches approximately between valleys the River Trent in the south and the River Tyne in the north, where the "Tyne Gap" separates the range from the Cheviot Hills. In the east, the part of the range containing the Yorkshire Dales is bound by the Vale of Mowbray, a plain separating them from the North York Moors. The range is bound in the north-west by the valleys of the River Eden and River Lune, both of which partially form a natural boundary with the Lake District.
Occasionally, the Cheviot Hills, which straddle the border between England and Scotland, are included in more broad definitions of the range. However, they are of mainly igneous origin, making them geologically distinct from the largely limestone (sedimentary) rocks of the Pennines.
Towns
Most parts of the Pennines are sparsely populated, with few significant towns. The rural Pennines are characterised by small, stone-built market towns, with good examples being Alston in Cumberland, Barnard Castle in County Durham, Buxton in Derbyshire and Richmond in Yorkshire, which boasts an impressive Norman castle. The Pennines, however, boasts a handful of medium and large towns, primarily in the foothills. These include Consett in County Durham, the Yorkshire towns Barnsley, Halifax Huddersfield, numerous Lancashire towns including Burnley and Rochdale as well as Stockport in Cheshire. Several major cities also have parts within the lowlands of the Pennines, including Bradford, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Stoke-on-Trent.
Economy
A bleak and sparsely inhabited region, most parts of Pennines are predominantly a sheep-farming area, though historically a number of mines operated in the range and their remains can still be seem in places.
Tourism and recreation
The Pennines are home to three National Parks; the Peak District National Park (largely in Derbyshire), the Yorkshire Dales National Park in Yorkshire, and the Northumberland National Park. Britains premier long-distance footpath, the Pennine Way, runs the length of the range from Kirk Yetholm on the Scottish border to Edale in Derbyshire.[3]
