Yorkshire Valleys National Park or as it is called – just the Valleys – is located in a mountainous area in Northern England. The boundaries of the park do not extend beyond the historic boundaries of the county of Yorkshire. Administratively, Yorkshire Valleys National Park is located in three counties: North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Cumbria. Yorkshire Valleys National Park was created in 1954 and today this park is one of the damn dozen most popular parks in England and Wales. The Yorkshire Valleys is a living natural complex made up of a huge number of rivers and hills that divide the valley into “chunks.” The western boundaries of the valleys reach the main Pennine watershed. To the east of the park are the Uz and Humber Rivers. Locals call Yorkshire Valleys Park by no other name than “Dales” (the word comes from Scandinavian/Germanic, it means the name of the valley).

Within the national park, those “pieces” of the valleys have their own names, usually after the nearest river. There are exceptions to every rule, though, and such an exception in the national park is the Wensleydale area, named for the town of Wensley, even though the Ure River flows nearby. In general, the name of all the valleys of the park is formed as follows: the name of the river +dale .
All the valleys in the park are divided into two categories: those that are U-shaped and those with a V-shape. The vast majority of valleys were formed by glaciers during the new ice age. The rock massifs of the Yorkshire Valleys are composed primarily of carbonaceous limestone, but have significant flecks of shale and sandstone. The abundance of limestone among the valleys has contributed to the formation of a significant number of caves within the park area. This area has an extensive system of caves, which attracts a large proportion of tourists to the park. And most of the caves are open for viewing.
The most typical Yorkshire Valleys landscape is verdant upland pasture, with nature itself laying out the boundaries – stone walls. Mostly sheep and cattle graze here. The local pastures are considered the best in the country.

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