Salta Moss is a raised blanket mire which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest ('SSSI') located in the hamlet of

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

, 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. ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was determined to be of biological interest (as opposed to geological interest, the other criteria for SSSIs) under the

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species (especia ...

. The site, measuring , was officially designated in August 1982.

Location

The SSSI is located in the hamlet of Salta, which is in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

of Holme St. Cuthbert, in the

Allerdale Allerdale is a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with borough status. Its council is based in Workington and the borough has a population of 93,492 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 96,422 at the 2011 Census. The B ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle ...

of Cumbria. The site is approximately from the coast, approximately above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

, and nearby settlements include Dubmill,

Edderside Edderside is a hamlet in the civil parish of Holme St. Cuthbert in Cumbria, United Kingdom. It is located approximately one mile as the crow files to the south-east of Mawbray, or two-and-a-half miles by road, and a similar distance east of S ...

, Hailforth, and

Mawbray Mawbray is a village in the civil parish of Holme St Cuthbert in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Cumberland. It is located on the Solway Plain, south west of Silloth, north of Maryport, and west of Carlisle. ...

. In addition to its status as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Salta Moss has some further legal protection due to this section of

Solway Firth The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven ...

coastline being a designated

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 th ...

. Known as the Solway Coast and headquartered at

Silloth Silloth (sometimes known as Silloth-on-Solway) is a port town and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in the county of Cumberland, the town is an example of a Victorian seaside resort in the North of Englan ...

, the AONB runs from the estuaries of the rivers Esk and

Eden Eden may refer to: * Garden of Eden, the "garden of God" described in the Book of Genesis Places and jurisdictions Canada * Eden, Ontario * Eden High School Middle East * Eden, Lebanon, a city and former bishopric * Camp Eden, Iraq O ...

(near

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

) to Skinburness, and again from Beckfoot to Crosscanonby along Allonby Bay. Furthermore, the sea at Allonby Bay is a Marine Conservation Zone, granting protection to local aquatic life.

Etymology

The word Moss in this case refers to a

peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

, not the family of plants. The word comes from the Old English ''meos'' or ''mos'', and ultimately from the

proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bran ...

''musan''. The name Salta comes from the Old English ''sēalt-tir'', meaning "land of salt", or simply "salt land". This is due to the Anglo-Saxon era saltmaking industry known to have been present on this part of the Solway coast. Several local house names include the word ''Moss'', or the names of plant species which grow there.

Historical significance

In the 1980s, a

rapier A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Impo ...

from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

was discovered on Salta Moss, which may have been crafted as early as 1100 BC. The sword was donated to the Tullie House Museum in Carlisle, where it is on display as of 2019.

Plant life

Several species of bog and moor plants are present on Salta Moss. These include ''

Molinia caerulea ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid ...

'', commonly known as purple moor grass, which is native to Great Britain and often seen on boggy or marshy ground. There are also several varieties of ''

Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

'', commonly known as heather, as well as

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are ...

. The site is known as a raised blanket mire (or blanket bog) due to its climate and the presence of

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

. There is also a small area of woodland, and the site sits atop a large deposit of glacial sand. Sand from this same deposit is quarried within a few miles of the SSSI at Overby, near

New Cowper New Cowper (pronounced and occasionally written New Cooper) is a small hamlet in the civil parish of Holme St. Cuthbert in Cumbria, United Kingdom. It is located three-and-a-half miles south-east of the village of Mawbray, one-and-a-half mile ...

. The main species noted by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna ...

, and given as reasons for the SSSI designation, are as follows: * ''

Angelica sylvestris ''Angelica sylvestris'' or wild angelica is a species of flowering plant, native to Europe and central Asia. An annual or short-lived perennial growing to a maximum of , it has erect purplish stems and rounded umbels of minuscule white or pale p ...

'' (wild angelica) * '' Carex rostrata'' (bottle or beaked sedge) * '' Erica tetralix'' (cross-leaved heath) * ''

Filipendula ulmaria ''Filipendula ulmaria'', commonly known as meadowsweet or mead wort, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia (Near east and Middle east). It has ...

'' (meadowsweet or mead wort) * ''

Galium palustre ''Galium palustre'', the common marsh bedstraw or simply marsh-bedstraw, is a herbaceous annual plant of the family Rubiaceae. This plant is widely distributed, native to virtually every country in Europe, plus Morocco, the Azores, Turkey, ...

'' (marsh-bedstraw) * '' Juncus acutiflorus'' (sharp-flowered rush) * ''

Juncus effusus ''Juncus effusus'', with the common names common rush or soft rush, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to ''Juncus interior''. Distribution '' ...

'' (common or soft rush) * '' Menyanthes trifoliata'' (bog bean) * ''

'' (purple moor grass) * '' Phragmites communis'' (common reed) * ''

Potentilla erecta ''Potentilla erecta'' (syn. ''Tormentilla erecta'', ''Potentilla laeta'', ''Potentilla tormentilla'', known as the (common) tormentil, septfoil or erect cinquefoil ) is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the rose family (Rosaceae). Descri ...

'' (tormentil or septfoil) * '' Salix pentandra'' (bay willow) * ''

Sphagnum cuspidatum ''Sphagnum cuspidatum'', the feathery bogmoss, toothed sphagnum, or toothed peat moss, is a peat moss found commonly in Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, the eastern coast of the United States, and in Colombia. Description '' Sphagnum cuspidatum'' ...

'' (feathery bog-moss or toothed peat moss) * ''

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

papillosum'' (papillose bog-moss) * ''Sphagnum recurvum'' * '' Vaccinium oxycoccos'' (cranberry, or bog or swamp cranberry)

Animal life

Vipera berus ''Vipera berus'', the common European adderMallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . or common European viper,Stidworthy J. (1974). ...

'', commonly known as adders, are present on Salta Moss. This species is Britain's only native venomous snake, and they are known to prey on small rodents, such as

voles Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of low-c ...

and field mice. Adders occasionally bite people, and their bite, while painful, is usually not fatal and the species is not considered especially dangerous to humans.

Melanistic The term melanism refers to black pigment and is derived from the gr, μελανός. Melanism is the increased development of the dark-colored pigment melanin in the skin or hair. Pseudomelanism, also called abundism, is another variant of pi ...

adders (adders which have dark pigmentation) are also noted to be present. Parts of the site provide shelter for

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

, and breeding grounds for

warblers Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers T ...

, and in addition many other species of wild birds are present, both migratory and nonmigratory.

Status

, the governing body of all SSSIs in England, regards parts of the site as destroyed and various other parts as under threat. This is primarily due to agricultural activity and draining of groundwater. Maintaining the site's status as an SSSI depends upon the retention of a high

water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. Th ...

. Natural England notes that further draining of the site would put it at increased risk.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cumbria Holme St Cuthbert