Newtondale: an Ice Age torrent

Abstract

Walking or driving across the wild and windswept Cleveland Hills in the North Yorkshire Moors, you may be surprised to encounter a deep sinuous trench, as much as 250 m wide and 100 m deep, with very steep sides. Newtondale, as it is called, stretches from Pickering northwards for 15 km towards Whitby. On further inspection you may ask, why does such a large winding valley contain such a small stream? Indeed, at its upper end there are no streams whatever, only a great peat bog and some artificial drains. It is impossible for such a small volume of water to have carved this imposing feature, although its meandering course, like that of many rivers today, suggests that it was formed by running water — but how and when?