Humberhead Levels
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The Humberhead Levels area is a large expanse of very flat, low lying land lying towards the eastern end of the Humber estuary in northern England.It occupies the area of the former glacial Lake Humber.It is bounded to the east by the Yorkshire Wolds and the northern Lincolnshire Edge and to the west by the southern part of the Yorkshire magnesian limestone ridge.In the north it merges with the slightly more undulating Vale of York close to the Escrick moraine and to the south it merges into the Trent Vale. [1]
[edit] Glacial Lake Humber
During the last ice age, a glacier extended across this area almost to where Doncaster now is. The main glacial front was at Escrick where the Esckrick moraine marks its position. This formed the northern limit of an extensive lake which was impounded by the blocking of the Humber gap by another ice front. Later the lake was filled with clay sediments which are up to 20 metres thick in some places.These clay sediments are locally overlain by peat deposits forming raised mires. At the base of the peat layers can be found the remains of a buried forest.[1][2]
[edit] Early settlement
The Humberhead levels have been settled for several thousand years. The drier northern area was settled before the Roman era. The lighter soils there were easier to drain and it was extensively cleared for small scale pastoral farming.[2] The system of easily navigable rivers was used by invading Angles and Danes to penetrate deep into the countryside.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Kent, Sir Peter & Gaunt, G D, Eastern England from the Tees to the Wash (Second ed.), British Regional Geology, London: HMSO. Natural Environment Research Council (published 1980), ISBN 0118841211
- ^ a b Humberhead Levels Character Area. English Nature. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
