Janet's Foss is a small
waterfall
A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge
of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...
near the village of
Malham
Malham is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. In the ''Domesday Book'', the name is given as Malgun, meaning "settlement by the gravelly places".
Until 1974 it was part of the Settle Rural District, in the ...
,
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...
, England. It carries Gordale Beck over a
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
outcrop topped by
tufa
Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitation (chemistry), precipitate out of water in ambient temperature, unheated rivers or lakes. hot spring, Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less ...
into a deep pool below. The pool was traditionally used for
sheep dip
Sheep dip is a liquid formulation of insecticide and fungicide that shepherds and farmers use to protect their sheep from infestation against external parasites such as itch mite (''Psoroptes ovis''), blow-fly, ticks and lice.
History
Sheep ...
ping, an event which drew in local village inhabitants for the social occasion.
The name ''Janet'' (sometimes ''Jennet'') is believed to refer to a
fairy
A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...
queen reputed to inhabit a cave at the rear of the fall.
''Foss'' is a
Nordic
Nordic most commonly refers to:
* Nordic countries, the northern European countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and their North Atlantic territories
* Scandinavia, a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern ...
word for waterfall, still used in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
, and is presented in a number of cases in England as 'force'.
Janet's Foss was the location of the fictional Molkham Falls featured in the 2006 independent British film ''Waterfall''. Filming took place there in May 2006.
Janet's Foss is occasionally used by all-weather
wild swimmers.
See also
*
List of waterfalls
This list of notable waterfalls of the world is sorted by continent, then country, then province, state or territory. A waterfall is included if it is at least tall and has an existing Wikipedia article, or it is considered historically sig ...
*
List of waterfalls in England
The uplands of the north and west of England enjoy the wettest climate and are home to the majority of waterfalls in the country. In areas such as the Lake District which were formerly glaciated, they are commonly found at the lower ends of hang ...
References
External links
Village and area web siteOfficial website of the film WATERFALL
Waterfalls of North Yorkshire
Craven District
Force (waterfall)
Malham
{{NorthYorkshire-geo-stub