Much of the Yorkshire Dales is "limestone country", the geology of which gives rise to the area's spectacular natural and unique karst features, including cliffs and gorges such as Malham Cove and Gordale Scar near Malham, and some of the finest examples of limestone pavements in the world (!)
Different types of carboniferous limestones occuring in the Yorkshire Dales include Great Scar Limestone, the limestone strata of the Yoredale Series (the layered structure of which gives fise to fine waterfalls such as Hardraw Force and Aysgarth Falls in Wensleydale etc.), and the relatively fossil rich reef limestone which is found in reef knolls such as those at Scosthrop Moor and the Cracoe Reef Knolls. Magnesian limestone can also be found near Ripon and at Knaresborough at the very eastern edges of the Yorkshire Dales area.
Because this is limestone country there are many caves and potholes in the area, and the Yorkshire Dales is one of the country's most important caving and potholing regions. [N.B. Please click here for more information about caving and potholing in the Yorkshire Dales.]
The presence of limestone and other kinds of surface rock in the dales has led to a range of large scale industrial quarrying operations which cause permanent and irreversible damage to the landscape - but which are still permitted to take place even within the boundaries of the national park.
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