Читать книгу Walking in the Yorkshire Dales: South and West. Wharfedale, Littondale, Malhamdale, Dentdale and Ribblesdale онлайн

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Fishing on the River Wharfe as it passes through Strid Wood (ssss1)

The additional areas increased the park’s size by almost a quarter to 2178 square kilometres (841 square miles) to make it the country’s third largest, with the Nidderdale AONB adding a further 600 square kilometres (233 square miles). Somewhat less than half of this is actively managed as agricultural land while the rest consists largely of open country and moorland. Historic land use, geography and climate mitigate against extensive areas of woodland and little more than three per cent is covered by trees, the largest single area being the coniferous plantations encircling the higher reaches of Langstrothdale. Because of the geology, extensive bodies of water are also notable by their absence and, in fact, only two natural lakes of significance occur in the whole of the Dales, Malham Tarn and Semer Water. However, the gritstone valleys in the south and east harbour a number of manmade reservoirs, built to sustain the industrial towns of West Yorkshire.