This is a list of lakes and tarns in North Yorkshire, England. Unlike the nearby Lake District, North Yorkshire does not have many natural lakes due to the porosity of the limestone underneath the surface.[1][2] The JNCC Special Area of Conservation status for the Craven Limestone Complex lists running and standing Water at only 1%.[3] Upland tarns are common where the underlying stone allows the water to collect. These tarns are usually surrounded by peat, so most have relatively acidic water in comparison to the alkaline nature of water which runs over Limestone common in the area.[4]
Man-made reservoirs and dams, such as at Moss Dam in Swaledale, are not included, as the list focuses only on natural lakes and tarns.[5] The list only covers those within Yorkshire, and sites such as Sunbiggin Tarn, whilst in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, are not included, as that body of water is in the county of Cumbria. Some tarns or lakes may no longer exist; historical documents refer to Giggleswick and Wigglesworth as having tarns - however, these have either dried up or have been drained.[6]
Name | Location | Coordinates | Height AMSL | Volume | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Birkdale Tarn | Keld | 54°24′40″N 2°13′44″W / 54.411°N 2.229°W | 1,598 feet (487 m) | 11,900,000 cubic feet (336,000 m3) | [7][8] | |
Birks Tarn | Birks Fell | 54°10′44″N 2°07′12″W / 54.179°N 2.120°W | 1,959 feet (597 m) | 2,960,400 cubic feet (83,828 m3) | In the 1890s, Birks Tarn was described as being "two sheets of water", but would become one big body of water in heavy rains. | [9][10] |
Cotter End Tarn | Cotterdale | 54°20′17″N 2°16′48″W / 54.338°N 2.280°W | 1,696 feet (517 m) | [11] | ||
Cray Tarn | Oughtershaw | 54°13′34″N 2°07′16″W / 54.226°N 2.121°W | 1,962 feet (598 m) | [12] | ||
Eshton Tarn | Bell Busk | 54°00′52″N 2°07′37″W / 54.0145°N 2.127°W | 472 feet (144 m) | 1,519,100 cubic feet (43,015 m3) | [13] | |
Fleet Moss Tarn | Fleet Moss | 54°14′49″N 2°11′38″W / 54.247°N 2.194°W | 1,896 feet (578 m) | [14] | ||
Fountains Fell Tarn | Fountains Fell | 54°08′13″N 2°12′07″W / 54.137°N 2.202°W | 2,116 feet (645 m) | 3,000,000 cubic feet (86,000 m3) | [15] | |
Gallaber Pond (Flash) | Hellifield | 54°00′40″N 2°14′17″W / 54.011°N 2.238°W | 490 feet (150 m) | The flash lake is sandwiched between the A65 road and the railway line north of Hellifield railway station. It does not appear on mapping from the early 1900s and is listed as a flash lake. | [16] | |
Gormire Lake | Sutton Bank | 54°14′31″N 1°13′44″W / 54.242°N 1.229°W | 509 feet (155 m) | 5,500,000 cubic feet (155,000 m3) | Gormire has no major inflow, or outflow of water, and is thought to be fed by natural springs. | [17][18][19] |
Greensett Moss | Ribblehead | 54°14′02″N 2°23′42″W / 54.234°N 2.395°W | 584 metres (1,916 ft) | 48,836 cubic metres (1,724,600 cu ft) | [20][21] | |
Hunters Hole | Oughtershaw | 54°13′37″N 2°07′55″W / 54.227°N 2.132°W | 2,057 feet (627 m) | [22] | ||
Locker Tarn | Carperby | 54°19′12″N 1°59′49″W / 54.320°N 1.997°W | 1,086 feet (331 m) | 2,509,900 cubic feet (71,073 m3) | [23][8] | |
Malham Tarn | Malhamdale | 54°05′49″N 2°09′47″W / 54.097°N 2.163°W | 1,230 feet (375 m) | 55,066,300 cubic feet (1,559,303 m3) | [24] | |
Middle Tongue Tarn | Oughtershaw | 54°13′59″N 2°08′31″W / 54.233°N 2.142°W | 2,047 feet (624 m) | The name derives from the fact that its straddles "the tongue [of land] of two valleys" | [25][26][27] | |
Newhouses Tarn | Horton-in-Ribblesdale | 54°10′08″N 2°18′29″W / 54.169°N 2.308°W | 814 feet (248 m) | 2,340,000 cubic feet (66,261 m3) | Adjacent to the River Ribble. Listed on the lakes portal as "Unnamed Water Body ID 29701" and on OS Mapping as The Tarn. One book source from 1921 describes a tarn "1.5 miles (2.4 km)" north of Horton-in-Ribblesdale as "Newhouses Tarn", named after the nearest hamlet. | [28][29] |
Oughtershaw Tarn | Oughtershaw | 54°14′02″N 2°10′52″W / 54.234°N 2.181°W | 1,824 feet (556 m) | [30] | ||
Priest's Tarn | Grassington | 54°07′16″N 1°57′32″W / 54.121°N 1.959°W | 1,691 feet (515.5 m) | [31][32] | ||
Scarborough Mere | Scarborough | 54°15′40″N 0°24′43″W / 54.261°N 0.412°W | 141 feet (43 m) | 9,895,300 cubic feet (280,205 m3) | [33] | |
Semerwater | Countersett | 54°16′48″N 2°07′26″W / 54.280°N 2.124°W | 807 feet (246 m) | 35,327,800 cubic feet (1,000,372 m3) | [34] | |
Slatepit Moss | Ravenseat Moor | 54°26′17″N 2°13′16″W / 54.438°N 2.221°W | 1,877 feet (572 m) | [35] | ||
South Grain Tarn | Oughtershaw | 54°13′52″N 2°06′47″W / 54.231°N 2.113°W | 1,926 feet (587 m) | [36] | ||
Summer Lodge Tarn | Crackpot | 54°21′00″N 2°04′41″W / 54.350°N 2.078°W | 1,722 feet (525 m) | 4,229,000 cubic feet (119,760 m3) | [37][38][8] | |
Whitaside Tarn | Crackpot | 54°21′04″N 2°02′10″W / 54.351°N 2.036°W | 1,732 feet (528 m) | [39] | ||
Widdale Little Tarn[note 1] | Widdale Fell | 54°17′17″N 2°19′05″W / 54.288°N 2.318°W | 2,090 feet (637 m) | [41][42] |