Pate Hole
| Pate Hole | |
| Westmorland | |
|---|---|
 The entrance to Pate Hole | |
| 6780&y=5 1210&z=120 NY 678 121 | |
| Co-ordinates: | 54°30’13"N, 2°29’53"W |
| Depth: | 108.3 feet (33.0 m)[1] |
| Length: | 3,182.4 feet (970.0 m)[1] |
| Hazards: | flooding[1] |
| Geology: | Carboniferous limestone |
Pate Hole is a cave located adjacent to Asby Gill, half a mile south of Great Asby in Westmorland. The cave is 3,182 feet long and has a vertical range of 108 feet. The entrance is normally dry, but in flood it becomes an impressive resurgence.[1]
Within
It consists of three main passages. From the entrance a stooping height passage heading south-east reaches a large 20-foot deep pool after 1,083 feet from which a stream emerges. This flows down a low passage to the north for some 886 feet where a sump is reached. The third main passage continues south underwater from the pool for 738 feet at a depth of 89 feet where it reaches a junction and becomes too restricted.[1]
The cave is formed in Carboniferous limestone,[2] and is thought to drain the Great Asby Scar area 2 miles to the southwest.[3]
The main part of the cave has been known for a long time, and it was an object of curiosity in the nineteenth century.[4] A brief foray into it was described in The Gentleman's Magazine in 1791,[5] and it was described as "a thousand yards long" in 1831.[6]
The first account of an exploration by cavers was in 1941 by members of the Yorkshire Ramblers' Club,[7] and in November 1946 it was surveyed by a group from Appleby Grammar School led by Brian Price.[8] The upstream sump was first dived for about 35 feet to a descending rift in 1960 by members of the Cave Diving Group, at which time the main part of the cave was re-surveyed by Warburton et alia. Further exploration took place in 1975-1976 by members of the same group to reach the current limit.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Brook, Dave (1994). Northern Caves Volume 3. The Three Counties System and the North West. Skipton: Dalesman Publishing Company Ltd.. pp. 254–255. ISBN 1855680831.
- ↑ "Geology of Britain Viewer". British Geological Survey. http://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/geologyofbritain/home.html. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Metcalfe, Dave (October 1978). "Pate Hole". Belfry Bulletin (366): 4. http://bec-cave.org.uk/publications-mainmenu-32/belfry-bulletin-mainmenu-33/418-belfry-bulletin-no-366-october-1978.html?start=3. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ↑ Bell, Thomas (1836). The scientific tourist through England, Wales & Scotland, Volume 2. Glasgow: A Fullarton and Co. p. 64.
- ↑ "Letter from T.C.". The Gentleman's Magazine 70: 923. 1791. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-3rPAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA923&dq=%22pate+hole%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hNTCUoTIObHT7Aa81YHwDg&ved=0CFsQ6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q=%22pate%20hole%22&f=false. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
- ↑ Lewis, Samual (1831). A Topographical Dictionary of England. London: S. Lewis & Co.. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=cbg9QiEF7IMC&pg=PT463&lpg=PT463&dq=%22pate+hole%22&source=bl&ots=TiMjLf8QPw&sig=9NkU7hIJ7OXeOZo7VAHgqDQusfQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=eSDBUoOlKsXQ7Aap4oGIBw&ved=0CHQQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=Pate%20Hole&f=false.
- ↑ "Cave Exploration". Yorkshire Ramblers' Club Journal 7 (24): 77–183. 1947. http://www.yrc.org.uk/yrcweb/index.php/journal/vols6-11/78-vol7-cat/no24/438-v7n24p177. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ↑ Price, Brian (1947). "Pate Hole, Westmoorland (letter)". The British Caver (16): 87–88.
