Gordale Scar is a limestone ravine 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east of Malham, North Yorkshire, England.[1] It contains two waterfalls and has overhanging limestone cliffs over 330 feet (100 m) high. The gorge could have been formed by water from melting glaciers or a cavern collapse. The stream flowing through the scar is Gordale Beck, which on leaving the gorge flows over Janet's Foss before joining Malham Beck 2 miles (3 km) downstream to form the River Aire.[2] A right of way leads up the gorge, but requires climbing approximately 10 feet (3 m) of tufa at the lower waterfall.
| Gordale Scar | |
|---|---|
 An aerial view of the scar | |
| Geology | |
| Type | Limestone ravine |
| Geography | |
| Location | 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east of Malham, North Yorkshire, England |
Notable visitors
editWilliam Wordsworth wrote in the sonnet Gordale, "let thy feet repair to Gordale chasm, terrific as the lair where the young lions couch".[3]
James Ward created a large and imaginative painting[4] of it that can be seen in Tate Britain. J. M. W. Turner also painted a picture of it in 1816, also to be seen in Tate Britain.[5]
Colin Tudge references this feature and James Ward's painting in his book The Time Before History.[6]
The waterfall was used as an exterior filming location in the 1982 film The Dark Crystal. Goredale Scar appears in the Netflix series The Witcher (S2 E3: "What is Lost").
Image gallery
edit-
The entrance to the ravine -
The first hurdle.. -
The upper waterfall -
Painting by James Ward -
The valley just downstream from Gordale Scar.
_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
References
edit- ^ Bagshaw, Mike; Mills, Caroline (2010). Alastair Sawday's Slow North Yorkshire: Moors, Dales & Coast, Including York. Alastair Sawday Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-84162-323-8.
- ^ Fellows, Griffith (2003). The waterfalls of England : a guide to the best 200. Wilmslow: Sigma Leisure. p. 138. ISBN 1-85058-767-1.
- ^ Wordsworth, William (2008). The Complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, in Ten Volumes - Vol. VII: 1816–1822. Cosimo. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-60520-263-1.
- ^ Ward, James. "Gordale Scar (A View of Gordale, in the Manor of East Malham in Craven, Yorkshire, the Property of Lord Ribblesdale)". Tate Galleries. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ Turner, Joseph Mallord William. "Gordale Scar". Tate Galleries. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
- ^ Tudge, Colin (1997). The Time Before History. Touchstone. pp. 14ff.
54°04′19″N 2°07′51″W / 54.07194°N 2.13083°W
 | This Craven location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |