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YORKSHIRE , a See also:north-eastern See also:county of See also:England, bounded N. by See also:Durham, E. by the North See also:Sea, S.E. by the See also:Humber See also:estuary (separating it from See also:Lincolnshire), S. by See also:Nottingham-See also:shire and See also:Derbyshire, S.W. for a See also:short distance by See also:Cheshire, W. by See also:Lancashire and N.W. by See also:Westmorland . It is the largest county in England, having an See also:area of 6o66.1 sq. m., and being more than See also:double the See also:size of Lincolnshire, which ranks next to it . In a description of the county it is constantly necessary to refer to its three See also:great divisions, the North See also:Riding, See also:East Riding and See also:West Riding (see RIDING, and See also:map of ENGLAND, Sections I., II.) . The centre of the county is a See also:plain, which in the S., about the See also:head of the Humber, resembles the See also:Fens in See also:character . The hills W. of the central plain, covering nearly the whole of the W . Riding and the N.W. of the N . Riding, are See also:part of the great Pennine See also:Chain (q.v.) . These hills consist of high-lying moorland, and are not generally remarkable for great beauty of outline . The higher parts are See also:bleak and See also:wild, and the slope towards the central plain is See also:gradual . The See also:chief beauty of the See also:district is to be found in the numerous deeply scored valleys or dales, such as Teesdale, Swaledale, See also:Wensleydale (q.v.), Nidderdale, Wharfedale and See also:Aire-See also:dale, in which the course of the streams is often broken by See also:water-falls, such as High Force in Teesdale and Aysgarth Force in Wensleydale . The hills E. of the central plain cannot be similarly considered as a unit . In the N., wholly within the N . Riding, a See also:line of heights known as the See also:Cleveland Hills, forming a See also:spur of the N . Yorkshire See also:Moors, ranges from Iwo to nearly 1500 ft., and overlooks rather abruptly the lowest part of the See also:Tees valley . The line of greatest See also:elevation approaches the central plain, and swings sharply S. in the Hambleton Hills to overlook it, while to the S. of the line See also:long deep dales carry tributary streams S. to the See also:river See also:Derwent, thus draining to the See also:Ouse . Eastward the N . Yorkshire moors give immediately upon the See also:coast . Their higher parts consist of open moorland . The remarkable upper valley of the Derwent (q.v.) marks off the N . Yorkshire moors from the Yorkshire wolds of the E . Riding, the river forming the boundary between the N. and E . See also:Ridings . The wolds superficially resemble the moors, inasmuch as they abut directly on the coast E.,'run thence W., and See also:swing S. to overlook the central plain . At the S. extremity they sink to the See also:shore of the Humber . Their greatest elevation is found near the W. See also:angle (Howardian Hills), but hardly reaches 80o ft . Eastward they encircle a See also:low-lying fertile See also:tract bounded S. by the Humber and E. by the North Sea . The name of Holderness is broadly applied to this low tract, though the See also:wapentake of that name includes properly only the E. of it . The diverse character of the coast may be inferred from the foregoing description . In the north, S. of Teesmouth, it is low for a short distance; then the E. abutments of the Cleveland Hills See also:form See also:fine cliffs, reaching at Boulby the highest elevation of sea-cliffs in England (666 ft.) . Picturesque valleys bearing short streams break the line, notably that of the Esk, reaching the sea at See also:Whitby . The trend of the coast is at first S.E. and then S . See also:South of See also:Scarborough it sinks with the near approach of the Derwent valley, begins to rise again See also:round the shallow sweep of See also:Filey See also:Bay, and then springs seaward in the fine promontory of Flamborough Head (see See also:BRIDLINGTON) . South of this, after the See also:sharp incurve of Bridlington Bay, the low coast-line of Holderness succeeds, long and unbroken, as far as Spurn Point, which encloses the mouth' of the Humber . Encroachments of the sea are frequent, but much See also:land has been reclaimed . There are several watering-places on the coast in high favour with visitors from the manufacturing districts . The See also:principal, from N. to S. are See also:Redcar, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Whitby, See also:Robin See also:Hood's Bay, Scarborough (the largest of all), Filey, Bridlington and See also:Horn-sea . There are numerous See also:mineral springs in Yorkshire, the principal being those at See also:Harrogate . There is also a See also:spa at Scarborough, and others are Askern near See also:Doncaster, See also:Boston Spa near Harrogate, See also:Croft on the Tees near See also:Darlington, Hovingham, near See also:Malton, Guisbrough in Cleveland and Slaithwaite near See also:Huddersfield . The springs are chiefly sulphurous and chalybeate . By far the greater part of Yorkshire is within the drainage See also:basin of the Ouse, which with the See also:Trent makes the estuary of the Humber (q.v.) . It is formed in the central plain by the junction of the See also:Ute and Swale, both rising in the Pennine hills; but whereas the Swale drains the N. of the plain, the lire, traversing Wensleydale, is enclosed by the hills over the greater part of its course . The Ouse also receives from the Pennine district the Nidd, traversing Nidderdale, the Wharfe, the Aire, with its tributary the See also:Calder, and the See also:Don . The Aire rises in the fine See also:gorge of Malham See also:Cove, from the subterranean waterways in the See also:limestone . None of these trihu_ taries is naturally navigable, but the Aire, Calder and Don are part canalized . From the E. the principal tributary is the Derwent, which on entering the central plain follows a course roughly parallel to that of the Ouse, and joins it in its See also:lower part, between See also:Selby and Howden . The See also:Foss joins the Ouse at See also:York . In the W. the county contains the headwaters of several streams of the W. slope of the Pennines, draining to the Irish Sea; of these the principal is the Ribble . In the N. the Tees forms most of the boundary with the county of Durham, but receives no large tributary from Yorkshire . In the S. of the W . Riding a few streams drain to the Trent . In Holderness, debarred by the wolds from the See also:general drainage See also:system of the county, the chief stream is the See also:Hull . The only sheets of water of any size are Semmer Water, in a See also:branch of Wensleydale; Malham See also:Tarn, near the head of Airedale. the effluent of which quickly disappears into an underground channel; and Hornsea See also:Mere, near the See also:flat seacoast at Hornsea . See also:Geology.—The great variety in the scenery of Yorkshire is but a reflection of the marked See also:differences in the See also:geological substructure . The stratification is for the most part See also:regular, but owing to a great line of dislocation nearly coincident with the W. boundary of the county the rocks See also:dip towards the E., while the strike of the strata is from N. to S . The bold and picturesque scenery of the western hills and dales is due to the effects of denudation among the harder rocks, which here come to the See also:surface . The strata in the Penninesconsist of (I) older Palaeozoic rocks, viz. a faulted inlier of See also:Silurian and Ordovician at See also:Horton in, Ribblesdale, and a small patch of Silurian at See also:Sedbergh with inliers of Coniston limestone; (2) the Carboniferous or See also:Mountain Limestone, which has been subjected to great dislocations, the more important of which are known as the N. and S . See also:Craven faults; (3) the Yoredale See also:series, consisting of shales, flagstones, limestones and thin seams of See also:coal; and (4) the Millstone Grit, forming part of the hilly moorlands, and capping many of the loftier eminences . In the W . Riding the Pennine range forms part of the elevated See also:country of Craven and Dent . The scenery in the W. of the N .
Riding is somewhat similar to that in Craven, except that the lower hills are of sharper outline owing to the perpendicular limestone scars
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To the intermingling of the limestone with the softer rocks are due the numerous "forces" or waterfalls, which are one of the See also:special features of the scenery of this district
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The See also:action of water on the limestone rocks assisted by See also:joints and faults has given rise to extensive caverns, of which the best examples are those of Clapham and Ingleton in the W
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Riding, as well as to subterranean watercourses
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At Brimham, Plumpton and elsewhere there are fantastic masses of rocks due to irregular weathering of the Millstone Grit
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The Pennine region is bounded on the S.E. by the Coal See also:Measures, forming the N. of the Derbyshire, Nottingham and Yorkshire coal-See also: In the See also:Middle Lias there is a seam of valuable See also:iron ore, the source of the prosperity of the Cleveland region . The moorlands extending from Scarborough and Whitby are formed of Liassic strata, topped with the estuarine beds of Lower Oolite, rising gradually to the N.E. and attaining at See also:Burton Head a height of 1489 ft., the greatest elevation of the Oolite formation in England . In the Oolitic " Dogger " series the magnetic iron ore of Rosedale is worked . See also:Corallian rocks form the scarp of the Hambleton hills and extend E. on the . N. of the Vale of See also:Pickering through Hackness to the coast, and S.W. of the vale to the neighbourhood of Malton . The, Vale of Pickering is underlaid by faulted Kimeridge Clay . Lias and Oolites fringe the E. of the Vale of York to Ferriby on the Humber . In the S.E. of the county, Cretaceous rocks See also:cover up the older strata, N. to the Vale of Pickering and W. to the Vale of York . The See also:Chalk forms the Yorkshire wolds and the country S. through See also:Driffield, See also:Beverley and Holderness . The Yorkshire coast between Redcar and Flamborough presents a continuous series of magnificent exposures of the strata from the Lower Lias to the Chalk . The Upper Lias fossils and See also:jet of Whitby and See also:alum shale of Saltwick are well known . At Scarborough the Corallian, See also:Oxford Clay, Kellaways Rock, See also:Cornbrash and Upper Estuarine beds are well exposed in the cliffs . In Filey Bay the Kimeridge Clay appears on the coast, but it is covered farther S, by the historic beds of Speeton, representing the marine equivalents of See also:Portland, Purbeck, See also:Wealden, and Love er See also:Greensand of S . England . Over the Speeton beds lies the Red Chalk, the Yorkshire See also:equivalent of the Upper Greensand and See also:Gault . The evidences of glacial action are of unusual See also:interest and variety; the great thickness of See also:boulder clay on the coast is See also:familiar to all, but inland also great deposits of glacial clay, See also:sand and gravel obscure the older geology . The Vale of Pickering and many of the smaller See also:northern valleys were at, we See also:period the sites of Glacial lakes, and the " warp " which covers much of the Vale of York is a fluvio-glacial See also:deposit . The Cleveland See also:Dike is an intrusive igneous dike of See also:augite-See also:andesite of See also:Tertiary See also:age which can be traced across the country in a N.W. direction from the neighbourhood of Fylingdales See also:Moor . Minerals.—The coal-field in the W . Riding is one of the chief See also:sources of mineral See also:wealth in Yorkshire, the most valuable seams being the Silkstone, which is bituminous and of the highest reputation as a See also:house coal, and the See also:Barnsley Thick Coal, the great seam of the Yorkshire coal-field, which is of special value, on See also:account of its semi-anthracitic quality, for. use in iron-smelting and in See also:engine furnaces . Associated with the Upper Coal Measures there is a valuable iron ore, occurring in the form of nodules . Large quantities of fireclay are also raised, as well as of gannister and oil-shale . Middlesbrough is the most important centre of See also:pig-iron manufacture in the See also:kingdom . See also:Lead ore is obtained in the Yoredale beds of the Pennine range in Wharfedale, Airedale, Nidderdale, Swale-dale, Arkendale and Wensleydale .
Slates and flagstones are quarried in the Yoredale rocks
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In the Millstone Grit there are several beds of See also:good See also:building See also:
Ridings are among the principal See also:sheep-farming districts in England
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See also:Cattle, for the rearing of which the W
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Riding is most noted, do not receive great See also:attention
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The Teeswater breed, however, is increasing in Yorkshire, and in Holderness there is a short-horned breed, chiefly valuable for its milking qualities
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See also:Cheese-making is largely carried on in some districts
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Of sheep perhaps the most See also:common breeds are the See also:Leicester, See also:Lincoln and South Down, and crosses between the Cheviot and the Leicester
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Large See also:numbers of pigs are kept at the See also:dairy farms and fed mainly on whey
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The small breed is that chiefly in favour
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Yorkshire See also: Riding, and may be taken as marked off approximately by the See also:watershed from the similar district in S . Lancashire . The W . Riding is now the chief seat of the woollen manufacture of the See also:United Kingdom, and has almost a See also:monopoly in the See also:production of worsted cloths . The See also:early development of the See also:industry was in part due to the abundance of water-See also:power, while later the presence of coal helped to maintain it on the introduction of See also:steam-power . In this industry nearly all the most important towns are engaged, while the names of several of the largest are connected with various specialities . Thus, while almost every variety of woollen and worsted See also:cloth is produced at Leeds, See also:Bradford is especially concerned with yarns and mixed worsted goods, See also:Dewsbury and See also:Batley with See also:shoddy, Huddersfield with See also:fancy goods and See also:Halifax with carpets . The See also:cotton industry of Lancashire has also penetrated to the neighbourhood of Halifax . Among the characteristics of the industrial See also:population, the love of See also:music should be mentioned . Choral See also:societies are numerous, and the See also:work of some of those in the larger towns, such as Sheffield, Leeds and Bradford, has attracted wide See also:notice . Next to the woollen industry comes the manufacture of iron and See also:steel machinery and implements of every variety, which is common to most of the larger centres in the district . Sheffield is especially famous for iron-work, fine See also:metal-work and See also:cutlery . The development of the iron ore deposits of Cleveland See also:dates only from the middle of the 19th See also:century . About two and a See also:half million tons of pig-iron are produced in this district annually, and there are considerable attendant See also:industries, such as the production of steel, and See also:shipbuilding . The chemical manufacture is important both here and in the W . Riding, where also a great variety of See also:minor industries have sprung up . Such are See also:leather working (at Leeds), the manufacture of clothing, See also:printing and See also:bleaching, and See also:paper-making . Besides coal and iron ore, great quantities of clay, limestone and sandstone are raised . Excellent building-stone is obtained at several places in the W . Riding: The sea-See also:fisheries are of some importance, chiefly at Hull, Scarborough, Whitby and Filey . Communications.—N. and E. of Leeds communications are provided almost wholly by the North-Eastern railway, the See also:main line of which runs from Leeds and from Doncaster N. by York, See also:Thirsk and Northallerton . The main junction with the Great Northern line is effected immediately N. of Doncaster, at which See also:town are the Great Northern See also:works . This See also:company serves the chief centres of the W . Riding, as do also the Midland, Great Central, See also:London & North-Western, Lancashire & Yorkshire, and North- Eastern companies, the trains working over a See also:close network of lines, while the system of run!.See also:ing-See also:powers held by one or more companies over the lines of another assists intercommunication .
The Midland main line to See also:Carlisle runs by Leeds, See also:Skipton and See also:Settle through the hilly country of the W
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The Hull & Barnsley line runs from Hull to Barnsley
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A See also:complete system of canals links the centres of the See also:southern W
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Riding with the sea both E. and \V., the Aire & Calder See also:Navigation communicating with the Ouse at See also:Goole; the Huddersfield See also:canal runs S.W. into Lancashire, See also:crossing the watershed by the long Stanedge See also:tunnel, and other canals are the Leeds & See also:Liverpool, Calder & Nebble Navigation, and the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation, which gives See also:access from Sheffield to the Trent
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The Aire & Calder Navigation, the most important of these canals, which has branches from See also:Castleford to Leeds and See also:Wakefield, and other branches to Barnsley, Bradford and Selby, has a See also:total length of 85 m., and has been much improved since its construction
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It was projected by See also: The manner in which the population is distributed may be inferred from the following statement of the See also:parliamentary divisions, parliamentary, county and muni•• cipal boroughs, and See also:urban districts in the three ridings . It should be premised that each of the three ridings is a distinct administrative county; though there is one high See also:sheriff for the whole county . The See also:city of York (pop . 77,914) is situated partly in each of the three ridings . The West Riding has an area of 1,771,562 acres, with a population in 1891 of 2,445,033, and in 1901 of 2,750,493 . Of this area the S. industrial district, considered in the broadest application of the See also:term as extending between Sheffield and Skipton, Sheffield and Doncaster, and Leeds and the county boundary, covers rather less than one-half . The area thus defined includes the parliamentary divisions of Barnsley, See also:Colne Valley, See also:Elland, Hallamshire, See also:Holmfirth, See also:Keighley, See also:Morley, See also:Normanton, See also:Pudsey, See also:Rotherham, See also:Shipley, See also:Sowerby, Spen Valley . It also includes parts of the divisions of Barkston Ash, Doncaster, Osgoldcross, See also:Otley and Skipton (a small part) . The remaining parts of these last divisions, with that of See also:Ripon, cover the See also:rest of the riding . Each See also:division returns one member . The following are parliamentary boroughs: Bradford, returning 3 members, Dewsbury i, Halifax 1, Huddersfield 1, Leeds 5, Pontefract 1, Sheffield 5, Wakefield 1 . All these are within the industrial district . Within this district are the following municipal boroughs (pops. in 1901): Barnsley (41.086), Batley (30,321), Bradford, city and county See also:borough (279,767), See also:Brighouse (21,735), Dewsbury (28,060), Doncaster (28,932), Halifax, county borough (104,936), Huddersfield, county borough (95.047), Keighley (41,564), Leeds, city and county borough (428,968), Morley (23,636), See also:Ossett (12,903), Pontefract (13,427), Pudsey (14,907), Rotherham (54,349), Sheffield, city and county borough (409,070), See also:Todmorden (partly in Lancashire, 25,418), Wakefield, city (41,413) . The only municipal boroughs elsewhere in the riding are Harrogate (28,423) and Ripon (See also:cathedral city, 8230) . Within the industrial region there are 113 other urban districts, those with populations exceeding to,000 being See also:Bingley (18,449), Castleford (17,386), See also:Cleckheaton (12,524), Elland (10,412), See also:Feather-stone (12,093), See also:Handsworth (13,404), Hovland Nether (12,464), See also:Liversedge (13,980), See also:Mexborough (10,430), See also:Mirfield (11,341), Normanton (12,352), See also:Rawmarsh (14,587), See also:Rothwell (11,702), Saddle-See also:worth (12,320), Shipley (25,573), Skipton (11,986), Sowerby See also:Bridge (11,477), See also:Stanley (12,290), See also:Swinton (12,127), See also:Thornhill (10,290), See also:Wombwell (13,252), See also:Worsborough (10,336) . The only urban districts in the West Riding not falling within the industrial region are—Goole (16,576), See also:Ilkley (7455), See also:Knaresborough (4979) and Selby (7786) . The North Riding has an area of 1,362,378 acres, with a population in 1891 of 359,547 and in 1901 of 377,338 . It comprises the parliamentary divisions of See also:Richmond, Cleveland, Whitby, and Thirsk and Malton, each returning one member; and the parliamentary boroughs of Middlesbrough (one member), Scarborough (one member), and parts of See also:Stockton-on-Tees and York . The municipal boroughs are Middlesbrough, county borough (91,302), Richmond (3837), Scarborough (38,161) and Thornaby-on-Tees (16,054) . The urban districts are See also:Eston (11,199), See also:Guisborough 5645') Hinderweil (1937), Kirklington-cum-Upsland (255), See also:Loftus 6508), Malton (4758), Masham (1955), Northallerton (4009), Ormesby (9482), Pickering (3491), Redcar (7695), Saltburn-by-the-Sea (2578), Scalhy (135, See also:Skelton and Brotton (13,240), South 1 A ~: . °ten See also:Mao B Mao .. QS Ci l" / 1 t°JC)py T See also:Cam y Bdton i . 1 53 t / / - I Md° d,9at>J w., / Verb ow L See also:tool Y~ n n CS ~-,;, . 8 t ~op zxrti .,F -:s et'7r gn n . ''t„ I on 2 +'4.,tQ ° ? -'---N/f ih aa• *i` y ke G R gton 1', i , yd n.l, W lmt L B.ms< a ` 'Aq y a See also:act•r en, 2 rhomt !' 4 z/ nae . t o acn tos OIES4Pl [on ~~~ ( 38 'a s FLdb~ Y ,Ng' WV .b ID,', e°A ' Wi . •_W.~ ~ ~. ilaw a% h W"'•.93„~ W F •( ~~/ d Q c ,I ` x rp,q,<U° 1f11~''\S `l~ ` Q D o .v •w Sq d 11~ 9 • t .%' Y'...,aew~n6~,~ ah F) ~St7.M~ 1tF q 6 is t h d Tadeas l 1 See also: |