Examples of the Social and economic opportunities in the Yorkshire Dales:
Farming:
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sheep grazing on the uplands
•
cattle fed from hay meadows in the valley floors
Mining and quarrying
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The main rocks quarried are carboniferous limestone and gritstone.
Most of the rock is used in the construction industry - half as roadstone and a further
quarter as aggregate.
Tourism & Recreation
People visit the Yorkshire Dales to:
• Admire the distinctive scenery and landscape, such as Malham Cove and Malham Tarn and
Malham Village
• walk and rock climb on Malham Cove
• visit limestone caves - for example, the White Scar Caves
• go potholing – Gaping Gill
Landuse Conflicts: Quarrying
http://www.classtools.net/education-games-php/quiz
Give examples of of products made from limestone*flux for steel, building stone, agricultural lime
What % of the working population in the Dales is employed by quarrying?*7%
How much does quarrying contribute to the Dales economy?*£6 million a year to the local economy
People object to quarrying in the Dales because:*limestone is non-renewable
People object to the transport of limestone because:*85% is transported by HGVs
People object to the transport of limestone because:*quarries produce noise,dust & pollute water
People object to the transport of limestone because:*quarries leave a scarred landscape
Problems & Conflicts created by Tourism:
• Traffic congestion – Malham Village
• Parking on verges – Causes a hazard to other road users
• 168 cars maximum car parking spaces including a grassed area at National Park Visitors
centre.
• Path erosion – new path had to be built to Malham Cove due to tourist pressure, Herb
Robert, Wall Lettuce – rare plants endangered by footpath trampling.
• 15% of the houses in YDNP are Second homes
• Higher prices reflect tourist demand not local needs.
• Limestone pavement removal.
Tourism Solutions:
• removing litter bins, in the hope that visitors will take litter home
• surfacing busy paths and building steps up the side of Malham Cove, to prevent further
erosion
• promoting the use of public transport such as Postbus passenger services and a Dales Bike
Bus, which can carry 24 bikes
• creating a visitor centre in Malham to educate visitors and school groups on the importance
of limestone pavement and its flora and fauna
Quarrying Solutions:
The National Park Authority is to ensures that quarrying scenery is as environmentally
acceptable as possible by…*screening by tree-planting, Ingleton quarry
The National Park Authority is to ensures that quarrying transport is as environmentally
acceptable as possible by…*rail transport at Swinden Quarry
The National Park Authority is to ensures that quarrying operations are as environmentally
acceptable as possible by…*ensuring restoration is carried out Ribblehead & Cool Scar Quarries
Limestone Formation
Carboniferous limestone is made of blocks of rock. The clear horizontal lines are called bedding
planes and the vertical cracks are called joints. The rock is permeable which means water can
pass through the lines of weakness - the bedding planes and joints.
The carboniferous limestone is made from the shells of ancient sea creatures laid down at the
bottom of the ocean and compacted into sedimentary rock.
Rainwater is a weak carbonic acid which reacts with the limestone as it passes through the rock.
It dissolves the stone, enlarging joints and bedding planes. On the surface the chemical
weathering widens and deepens cracks to form grykes. This leaves exposed blocks of limestone
called clints and the resulting pattern of blocky rock is called a limestone pavement.