High force, one of the highest waterfalls in the UK on the river Tees, a very popular tourist attraction
High Force The unique drama of the North Pennines is largely due to carboniferous limestone laid down more than 300 million years ago as the corals of a tropical sea. Around 295 million years ago, molten volcanic magma forced its way between these sediments to form a layer of dolerite up to 90m (295ft) thick, which became known as the Great Whin Sill. This spectacular geological feature is exposed at various places throughout north-east England, most famously on Lindisfarne and along the route of Hadrian’s Wall. It dominates the character of the Upper Teesdale, where it resists erosion by the River Tees and forms a series of immense waterfalls. Fed by autumn rainfall and edged with deciduous trees, High Force comes into its own at this time of year. High Force is a waterfall on the River Tees, near Middleton-in-Teesdale, Teesdale, County Durham, England.[1] The waterfall is within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and European Geopark. Despite popular belief that it is the highest waterfall in England, at metres (71 ft), others have a longer fall: Cautley Spout, in Cumbria's Howgill Fells, is almost 180 metres (590 ft) high, and Hardraw Force, in North Yorkshire, has an unbroken drop of 30 metres (98 ft); whilst underground, on the flanks of Ingleborough, Fell Beck falls an unbroken 96 metres (315 ft) down the Jib Tunnel of Gaping Gill Hole. The whole of the River Tees plunges over a precipice (cliff edge which is almost vertical) in two stages. In former times flooding created two separate falls, but after the completion of Cow Green Reservoir in the upper Teesdale this seldom happens now. In harsh winters the falls would freeze, creating cathedral-like ice formations. High Force was formed where the River Tees crosses the Whin Sill – a hard layer of igneous rock (also seen at Hadrian's Wall and other locations). The waterfall itself consists of three different types of rock.
Size: 5449px × 2904px
Location: High Force, Teesdale, nr Middleton-inTeesdale, on the River Tees, County Durham
Photo credit: © Louisa E Taylor / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: , area, attraction, beautiful, beauty, belief, completion, county, created, dales, durham, england, european, falls, flooding, force, geopark, green, high, highest, metres, middleton--teesdale, middleton--weardale, natural, north, outstanding, penines, pennines, popular, powerful, reservoir, river, separate, stages., tees, teesdale, times, tourist, waterfall
