List of lakes and tarns in North Yorkshire explained

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. 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 Some tarns or lakes may no longer exist; historical documents refer to Giggleswick and Wigglesworth as having tarns - however, these have either dried up or have been drained.

List

List of lakes and tarns in North Yorkshire!Name!Location!Coordinates!Height AMSL!Volume!Notes!Ref

Birkdale Tarn	Keld	54.411°N -2.229°W	487m (1,598feet)	336000m^2		^[5]
Birks Tarn	Birks Fell	54.179°N -2.12°W	597m (1,959feet)	83828m^2	In the 1890s, Birks Tarn was described as being "two sheets of water", but would become one big body of water in heavy rains.	^[6] ^[7]
Cotter End Tarn	Cotterdale	54.338°N -2.28°W	517m (1,696feet)			^[8]
Cray Tarn	Oughtershaw	54.226°N -2.121°W	598m (1,962feet)			^[9]
Eshton Tarn	Bell Busk	54.0145°N -2.127°W	144m (472feet)	43015m^2		^[10]
Fleet Moss Tarn	Fleet Moss	54.247°N -2.194°W	578m (1,896feet)			^[11]
Fountains Fell Tarn	Fountains Fell	54.137°N -2.202°W	645m (2,116feet)	86000m^2		^[12]
Gallaber Pond (Flash)	Hellifield	54.011°N -2.238°W	150m (490feet)		The flash lake is sandwiched between the A65 road and the railway line north of railway station. It does not appear on mapping from the early 1900s and is listed as a flash lake.	^[13]
Gormire Lake	Sutton Bank	54.242°N -1.229°W	155m (509feet)	155000m^2	Gormire has no major inflow, or outflow of water, and is thought to be fed by natural springs.	^[14] ^[15] ^[16]
Greensett Moss	Ribblehead	54.234°N -2.395°W				^[17] ^[18]
Hunters Hole	Oughtershaw	54.227°N -2.132°W	627m (2,057feet)			^[19]
Locker Tarn	Carperby	54.32°N -1.997°W	331m (1,086feet)	71073m^2		^[20]
Malham Tarn	Malhamdale	54.097°N -2.163°W	375m (1,230feet)	1559303m^2		^[21]
Middle Tongue Tarn	Oughtershaw	54.233°N -2.142°W	624m (2,047feet)		The name derives from the fact that its straddles "the tongue [of land] of two valleys"	^[22] ^[23] ^[24]
Newhouses Tarn	Horton-in-Ribblesdale	54.169°N -2.308°W	248m (814feet)	66261m^2	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 "" north of Horton-in-Ribblesdale as "Newhouses Tarn", named after the nearest hamlet.	^[25] ^[26]
Oughtershaw Tarn	Oughtershaw	54.234°N -2.181°W	556m (1,824feet)			^[27]
Priest's Tarn	Grassington	54.121°N -1.959°W	515.5m (1,691.3feet)			^[28] ^[29]
Scarborough Mere	Scarborough	54.261°N -0.412°W	43m (141feet)	280205m^2		^[30]
Semerwater	Countersett	54.28°N -2.124°W	246m (807feet)	1000372m^2		^[31]
Slatepit Moss	Ravenseat Moor	54.438°N -2.221°W	572m (1,877feet)			^[32]
South Grain Tarn	Oughtershaw	54.231°N -2.113°W	587m (1,926feet)			^[33]
Summer Lodge Tarn	Crackpot	54.35°N -2.078°W	525m (1,722feet)	119760m^2		^[34] ^[35]
Whitaside Tarn	Crackpot	54.351°N -2.036°W	528m (1,732feet)			^[36]
Widdale Little Tarn	Widdale Fell	54.288°N -2.318°W	637m (2,090feet)			^[37]

References

Sources

• Gribble . F. C. . Census of Black-headed Gull colonies in England and Wales, 1958 . Bird Study . March 1962 . 9 . 1 . 10.1080/00063656209476012.
• Book: Lennie . Stuart . The roof of Wensleydale : a portrait of Wensleydale's two thousand foot fells . 2005 . Hayloft . Kirkby Stephen . 1-904524-30-3.
• Book: Speight . Harry . The Craven and North-West Yorkshire Highlands . 1892 . E Stock . London. 7219082.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lakes and tarns . Yorkshire Dales National Park . 29 May 2021.
2. Web site: Freshwater . Yorkshire Dales National Park . 29 May 2021.
3. Web site: Craven Limestone Complex - Special Areas of Conservation . sac.jncc.gov.uk . 29 May 2021.
4. Book: Gilbert . Oliver . Goldie . Helen . Hodgson . David . Marker . Margaret . Pentecost . Allan . Proctor . Michael . Richardson . Douglas . The ecology of Cowside Beck : a tributary of the river Skirfare in the Malham area of Yorkshire . 2006 . FSC . Settle . 1851532188. 32 .
5. Web site: Birkdale Tarn Water Body ID 29250 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 29 May 2021.
6. Web site: BIRKS TARN, CRAVEN (BD23 5JD) . getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ . 2 June 2021.
7. Web site: Birks Tarn Water Body ID 29665 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.
8. Web site: Cotter End Tarn Water Body ID 29396 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 29 May 2021.
9. Web site: Cray Tarn Water Body ID 29576 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 4 June 2021.
10. Web site: Eshton Tarn Water Body ID 30020 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 4 June 2021.
11. Web site: Fleet Moss Tarn Water Body ID 29540 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 29 May 2021.
12. Woof. C. Jackson. E. Some aspects of the water chemistry in the area around Malham Tarn, North Yorkshire. 1988. 1. 7. Fields Studies Journal. Shrewsbury. FSC. 0428-304X. 161.
13. News: Mason . Viv . Dismay as Hellifield flashes legal report favours developer . 14 December 2021 . Craven Herald . 25 September 2020.
14. Web site: Gormire Lake . environment.data.gov.uk . 7 June 2021.
15. News: Newton . Grace . Gormire Lake: The Yorkshire lake shrouded in myths and mystery . 7 June 2021 . The Yorkshire Post . 24 July 2019.
16. Web site: Gormire Lake . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 7 June 2021.
17. Web site: Unnamed Water Body ID 29558 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 10 April 2022.
18. Web site: Greensett Moss . OS GetOutside . 10 April 2022.
19. Web site: Hunters Hole Water Body ID 29575 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 4 June 2021.
20. Web site: Locker Tarn Water Body ID 29429 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.
21. Web site: Malham Tarn Water Body ID 29844 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.
22. Web site: Middle Tongue Tarn Water Body ID 29572 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.
23. Web site: Middle Tongue Tarn, Craven . getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk . 14 December 2021.
24. Web site: Middle Tongue :: Survey of English Place-Names . epns.nottingham.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.
25. Web site: Unnamed Water Body ID 29701 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 29 May 2021.
26. Book: Hobson . Bernard . The West Riding of Yorkshire . 1921 . Cambridge University Press . Cambridge . 22. 187101920.
27. Web site: Oughtershaw Tarn Water Body ID 29561 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.
28. Web site: Priest's Tarn, Craven . getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk . 8 July 2022.
29. Web site: Priests Tarn Water Body ID 29804 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 8 July 2022.
30. Web site: The Mere Water Body ID 29493 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.
31. Web site: Semer Water Water Body ID 29479 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.
32. Web site: Slatepit Moss Water Body ID 29214 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.
33. Web site: South Grain Tarn Water Body ID 29568 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.
34. Web site: Summer Lodge Tarn Water Body ID 29379 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.
35. Web site: Summer Lodge Tarn . getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk . 14 December 2021.
36. Web site: Whitaside Tarn Water Body ID 29378 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.
37. Web site: Widdale Little Tarn Water Body ID 29473 . eip.ceh.ac.uk . 14 December 2021.