Scaleber Force
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Scaleber Force (also known as Scaleber Foss and Scaleber Waterfall), is a high waterfall on Stockdale Beck, later the Long Preston Beck, that feeds into the
River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...
between
Settle Settle or SETTLE may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an in ...
and
Long Preston Long Preston is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, in the Yorkshire Dales. It lies along the A65 road, and is from Skipton and from Settle. The population of Long Preston in 2001 was 680, increasing to 74 ...
in
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. The waterfall is the result of geological faulting (part of the South Craven Fault) and is a popular tourist attraction.


Toponymy

The waterfall is written variously as Scaleber Waterfall, Scaleber Force and Scaleber Foss. Though Foss is an
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
word meaning waterfall, from which Force is derived, the two are interchangeable in some sources. However,
Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
mapping shows it as Scaleber Force. The local pronunciation of Scaleber is ''Scallyber'', though ''Scale-ber'' is often heard.


Geology

Scaleber Force lies on the South Craven Fault, and the action of the water has eroded the soft limestone into a deep gorge, exposing limestone boulder beds at the top of the waterfall. The limestone at Scaleber Force is either Late Arundian stage, or the Holkerian stage of the Viséan age limestone.


Description

The waterfall is located on Stockdale Beck, and is part of Scaleber Wood, a Woodland Trust site south east of Settle, and north of Long Preston. The waterfall is a popular destination and is accessible by walkers and bike-riders; one ride, known as the ''Settle Loop'', has Scaleber Force as a waypoint. Along with Catrigg Force and various natural caverns, the foot access to the site is marketed locally as the '' Settle Caves and Waterfalls Walk''. There is a long held belief that
Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
was inspired by the site (and Catrigg Force), as he walked the
Ribblesdale Ribblesdale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in England. It is the Dale (landform), dale or upper valley of the River Ribble in North Yorkshire. Towns and villages in Ribblesdale (downstream, from north to south) include Selside, North Yorkshire, ...
countryside often with his friend, Dr Buck, who lived in Settle. The site is popular with photographers and sightseers as water cascades over two sections with a plunge pool at the bottom.


See also

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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 ...


Notes


References


Sources

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External links


My Yorkshire Dales entry for Scaleber Force
{{Waterfalls of Yorkshire Waterfalls of North Yorkshire Force (waterfall) Ribblesdale Yorkshire Dales