31-701: Nidd Gorge makes up a section of the River Nidd in North Yorkshire , England , in which the river enters a deep ravine with sheer tree-covered valley sides. The river as a whole flows from its source near Great Whernside in Nidderdale (part of the Yorkshire Dales ), to its confluence with the River Ouse near Nun Monkton . Nidd Gorge makes up approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) of
62-430: A compensation release for the river. It covers an area of 312 acres (126 ha). The Nidd can overflow the reservoirs, flooding the caves in the valley. In such cases the river overflows into the normally dry river bed past Lofthouse through to Gouthwaite Reservoir . The head of the river is located on moorland and the river character is affected by the run-off levels from the three reservoirs. The upper valley
93-913: A link to the older Indo-European root *-nedi , simply meaning river. The Nidd likely shares this etymology with the river and town of Neath (Welsh Nedd ) in South Wales and the town of Stratton in Cornwall (originally named Strat-Neth), and with many other rivers across Europe, such as the Nete in Belgium, the Nied in France, Neda in Galicia (NW Spain), the Nethe , Nidda and Nidder in Germany, and
124-400: A new river, to be given its own name, perhaps one already known to the people who live upon its banks. Conversely, explorers approaching a new land from the sea encounter its rivers at their mouths, where they name them on their charts, then, following a river upstream, encounter each tributary as a forking of the stream to the right and to the left, which then appear on their charts as such; or
155-654: A remit to conserve the ecological condition of the River Nidd from its headwaters to the Humber estuary. The Nidd rises in Nidderdale at Nidd Head Spring on the slopes of Great Whernside in the Yorkshire Dales . It flows east into Angram and Scar House reservoirs before turning south just downstream of Newhouses. In normal conditions the river disappears underground into the sinkhole known as Manchester Hole. If Scar House reservoir overflows, water flows past Manchester Hole to Goyden Pot, another sinkhole. In severe floods,
186-400: A settlement in the township of Stonebeck Up , submerged when the reservoir was built. Completed in 1919 with a dam height of 61 metres (200 ft) covering 34 hectares with a volume of 1,041 million gallons and a depth of 33.4 metres (110 ft). A temporary village was built at Scar House to house the workers building the reservoirs and some remains can still be seen. The old Village Hall
217-558: Is cared for by Woodland Trust who currently manage over 1000 areas of woodland within the United Kingdom . The Nidd viaduct at the western end of the gorge, used to carry a railway between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge , Northallerton and Thirsk , and was closed in 1967. It now carries the Nidderdale Greenway , a tarmac path that allows walkers, cyclists, and those in wheelchairs or mobility scooters to travel
248-476: Is primarily millstone grit with fluvioglacial deposits . The overlying soil is prone to water-logging due to its slow permeability, being composed of loamy soils on top of clay with peat on the top layer. Around Lofthouse there are outcrops of Upper Yoredale limestone, which is more permeable than millstone grit and has created the Nidderdale Caves , where the river flows underground. Lower down on
279-741: The A1 and the A1(M) near the small village of Cowthorpe . The river continues meandering past Cattal north-easterly towards Moor Monkton , towards its junction with the River Ouse at Nun Monkton . The two most northerly reservoirs on the course of the river were built to provide water to the Bradford area in the early 1900s by way of the Nidd Aqueduct . As of 2017, they are maintained by Yorkshire Water . The reservoir takes its name from Angram,
310-649: The Nida in Poland. Along the river valley can be found the Nidderdale Museum , which is located in Pateley Bridge, and features sections about the traditional agriculture, industries, religion, transport and costume of Nidderdale. Lower down the river is the town of Knaresborough , which is home to Knaresborough Castle and Knaresborough Museum. There are many way-marked walking routes throughout
341-433: The United Kingdom as a whole. The woodland in this area is also popular among birdwatchers , who come to observe the variety of species which inhabit the gorge. The project keeps a very close watch on the wildlife in this area as well as maintaining the route for hikers and cyclists, and as such is largely responsible for keeping the gorge an idyllic route for all members of the public. The woodland which surrounds Nidd Gorge
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#1732772821487372-528: The 18th century and the advent of the Industrial Revolution , mills began to operate along this stretch of the river, using the force of the water to drive the machinery. Scotton Flax mill was erected in 1798 and run by the company Eteson Dearlove until it ceased operation in 1851. Although this mill was classified as being in Bilton , there was actually another Bilton mill on the other side of
403-513: The 4 miles (6.4 km) between the Bilton area of Harrogate and Ripley . The gorge and the greenway itself are under threat from a proposed new inner ring road linking Knaresborough and the north end of Harrogate. A wide variety of wildlife inhabits the gorge. The area is especially known among local entomologists for the diverse range of butterflies and high number of rare species of ladybirds . There are also many species of birds that live in
434-455: The entire length of the river, and stretches from the now defunct Nidd viaduct at Bilton in Harrogate to Grimbald Bridge, just south of Knaresborough . The 120 feet (37 m) gorge was cut out of the soft sandstone during the last Ice Age. Humans were first active in this area around 5,000 years ago, but the extensive woodland has been there only since the early 17th century. During
465-754: The flood plain, the nature of the underlying ground is Magnesian Limestone over alluvium and terrace drift deposits. On top of this is a combination of slowly permeable and well drained fine loam over clay. Where the river passes through the Nidd Gorge , Carboniferous ( Namurian ) and Upper Permian rock is exposed. The etymology of the name remains unknown but the name is either Celtic or Pre-Celtic (as with most rivers in Western Europe). A derivation from Celtic meaning brilliant or shining has been suggested (as in Old Irish níamda ), as has
496-451: The handedness is from the point of view of an observer facing upstream. For instance, Steer Creek has a left tributary which is called Right Fork Steer Creek. These naming conventions are reflective of the circumstances of a particular river's identification and charting: people living along the banks of a river, with a name known to them, may then float down the river in exploration, and each tributary joining it as they pass by appears as
527-424: The joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary , a river or stream that branches off from and flows away from the main stream. Distributaries are most often found in river deltas . Right tributary , or right-bank tributary , and left tributary , or left-bank tributary , describe the orientation of the tributary relative to the flow of the main stem river. These terms are defined from
558-595: The main stem river into which they flow, drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater , leading the water out into an ocean. The Irtysh is a chief tributary of the Ob river and is also the longest tributary river in the world with a length of 4,248 km (2,640 mi). The Madeira River is the largest tributary river by volume in the world with an average discharge of 31,200 m /s (1.1 million cu ft/s). A confluence , where two or more bodies of water meet, usually refers to
589-518: The mixture of deciduous and coniferous woodland, such as treecreepers , nuthatches , and even the lesser spotted woodpecker . 54°00′50″N 1°29′13″W / 54.014°N 1.487°W / 54.014; -1.487 River Nidd The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire . It rises in Nidderdale at Nidd Head Spring on
620-469: The opposite bank before approaching the confluence. An early tributary is a tributary that joins the main stem river closer to its source than its mouth, that is, before the river's midpoint ; a late tributary joins the main stem further downstream, closer to its mouth than to its source, that is, after the midpoint. In the United States, where tributaries sometimes have the same name as
651-467: The path along the river became treacherous and often impassable when there had been heavy rain. In areas in which the path was particularly susceptible to becoming impassable after heavy rain, the council placed duck boards which enable users of the route to easily negotiate any areas of the path which are likely to become particularly muddy. Since this work has been carried out, the route is now popular among hikers and cyclists from all over Yorkshire , and
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#1732772821487682-476: The perspective of looking downstream, that is, facing the direction the water current of the main stem is going. In a navigational context, if one were floating on a raft or other vessel in the main stream, this would be the side the tributary enters from as one floats past; alternately, if one were floating down the tributary, the main stream meets it on the opposite bank of the tributary. This information may be used to avoid turbulent water by moving towards
713-553: The river flows past Goyden Pot down the valley. The water sinking into the Nidderdale caves reappears at the rising Nidd Head to the south of the village of Lofthouse . Below Lofthouse the river is joined by How Stean Beck, and turns south-south-east towards Ramsgill before flowing into Gouthwaite Reservoir. Continuing on the same heading, the first major settlement is reached at Pateley Bridge . Turning more south-easterly, it flows past Glasshouses and Summerbridge , where it turns south again past Dacre Banks . Passing by Darley ,
744-666: The river into which they feed, they are called forks . These are typically designated by compass direction. For example, the American River in California receives flow from its North, Middle, and South forks. The Chicago River 's North Branch has the East, West, and Middle Fork; the South Branch has its South Fork, and used to have a West Fork as well (now filled in). Forks are sometimes designated as right or left. Here,
775-449: The river turns east before reaching Birstwith , where it flows south-east to Hampsthwaite . A series of large bends in the river take the flow north, east and then south, and east again, to enter Nidd Gorge . Below the gorge, the river meanders south-east through the town of Knaresborough , heading north and looping south again as it enters flatter terrain. Near Little Ribston it meanders south-easterly and easterly, crossing underneath
806-466: The river valley, including the Nidderdale Way , a 55-mile circular walk whose usual starting point is Ripley. Ordnance Survey Maps Tributary A tributary , or an affluent , is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ( main stem or "parent" ), river, or a lake . A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean . Tributaries, and
837-412: The slopes of Great Whernside. In its first few miles it has been dammed three times, creating Angram Reservoir , Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir , which attract a total of around 150,000 visitors a year. It joins the River Ouse at Nun Monkton . The upper river valley, Nidderdale , was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1994. The Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust has
868-418: The smaller stream designated the little fork, the larger either retaining its name unmodified, or receives the designation big . Tributaries are sometimes listed starting with those nearest to the source of the river and ending with those nearest to the mouth of the river . The Strahler stream order examines the arrangement of tributaries in a hierarchy of first, second, third and higher orders, with
899-432: The streams are seen to diverge by the cardinal direction (north, south, east, or west) in which they proceed upstream, sometimes a third stream entering between two others is designated the middle fork; or the streams are distinguished by the relative height of one to the other, as one stream descending over a cataract into another becomes the upper fork, and the one it descends into, the lower ; or by relative volume:
930-565: The weir, which shared the Scotton weir with Scotton Flax mill as its source of power. Most evidence of this mill has since disappeared, while the 'Scotton' mill still stands, although it has been deindustrialised and now exists as a private residence. In 1982, Harrogate Borough Council set up the Nidd Gorge Management Project in a bid to make the 68 acres (28 ha) area more accessible to hikers and cyclists, as
961-485: Was moved to Darley, where it now serves as the local Village Hall. The dam at Scar House was completed in 1936. The dam height is 71 m (233 ft) with the reservoir covering area 70 hectares and a depth of36.3 metres (119 ft) giving a volume of 2,200 million gallons. The reservoir is fed almost exclusively from the Angram dam. Gouthwaite reservoir is designated a Site for Special Scientific Interest. It provides