HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Upper Teesdale is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
(SSSI) in the west
County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. It encompasses an extensive upland area that includes the
headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...
of the
River Tees The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has bee ...
and the surrounding catchment area upstream of the village of
Langdon Beck Langdon Beck is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated in upper Teesdale, between Forest-in-Teesdale and Harwood, halfway between Penrith and Durham. It is a stronghold for the black grouse, one of the few sites for them in the Nort ...
. The site has a diverse mix of habitats, mainly dry
heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...
, with wet heath and
blanket mire Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses o ...
in areas that are poorly drained. The Upper Teesdale SSSI is one of the most important botanical sites in Britain; the flora is exceptionally rich in species that are nationally rare, including some that are
relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...
s of the arctic-alpine environment of the last glacial period. The area supports internationally important populations of some
wading birds 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
and is home to several rare
invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordat ...
. Within the SSSI are several locations that are of national importance geologically, including one of only two known outcrops of 'sugar'
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
in Britain. The southern part of the SSSI largely coincides with the eastern portion of the
Moor House-Upper Teesdale Moor House-Upper Teesdale National Nature Reserve covers 7,400 ha of the Pennine moors in the north of England. It straddles Cumbria and County Durham. It was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1976. The Moor House area was in the first ...
National Nature Reserve, which has been designated a '
Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
' by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
. The entire area falls within the
North Pennines The North Pennines is the northernmost section of the Pennine range of hills which runs north–south through northern England. It lies between Carlisle to the west and Darlington to the east. It is bounded to the north by the Tyne Valley and ...
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...
. Much of Upper Teesdale SSSI was formerly designated as Upper Teesdale and Appleby Fells SSSI. Following a substantial revision in 1990, most of the site was divided between two new (but adjoining) SSSIs, Upper Teesdale in Durham and
Appleby Fells Appleby Fells is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Eden district of Cumbria, England, near Appleby-in-Westmorland. The area is approximately a triangle with a right angle in the North East at Cow Green Reservoir. It extends westward ...
in
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...
. A small part was amalgamated with
Moor House National Nature Reserve Moor or Moors may refer to: Nature and ecology * Moorland, a habitat characterized by low-growing vegetation and acidic soils. Ethnic and religious groups * Moors, Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during ...
to form a third SSSI,
Moorhouse and Cross Fell Moorhouse and Cross Fell is a Site of Special Scientific Interest covering an extensive area of moorland in the Wear Valley district of west County Durham and the Eden district of Cumbria, England. It is contiguous with Upper Teesdale SSSI ...
, which is contiguous with the other two. At the same time, two further SSSIs, Mill Beck Wood and Moking Hurth Cave, were incorporated into Upper Teesdale SSSI and ceased to exist as separate entities.


References

{{authority control Sites of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham River Tees