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Durham E-Theses The geomorphology of the Wear Valley Maling, D. H. How to cite: Maling, D. H. (1955) The geomorphology of the Wear Valley, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/9267/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk THB GBOMQRPHCiLOGY 0? THE V/EAR VALLEY. by D.H. Haling^. Thesis submitted for eX'-iiaination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Durham University, October, 1955. Based upon research cai-ried out frora the Department of Geography, Durham Colleges, under the superrioion of L.Slater Esq., M.A. and with the aid of a ITature Conservancy Research Studentship 1952-1955. THE ROCK SUCCESSION OF THE ALSTON BUXK & EAST DURHAM TRIASSIC M»SNESIAN UMESTONE te') PERMIAN H YELU3W SANDS fc') NCI LflTUt 4 OXWTr —j Fwi MMML caw. , •CAMt ' UPPER (dn cow. MEASURES (d'l SHAM COAL MCOLECn J VIOAraSTCn CL«T MtLSTONE GRIT (d'l CARBONIFEROUS UPPER(d') "ooc UITLt L««TONC ^ CARBONIFEROUS UMESTONE SERIES- Mcoj: id'l tOWfll LIITU LU<ITO«t LOWER (d*) BASEMENT GROUP CROCVICIAN 8. SILURIAN IGNEOUS INTRUSBNS CLCVCLANO-MSUTIMAITE OTKE WHN SLL: ICTT.LUOWIORTH & WAOtEKFeU) OTKES onoovcuN: aORROWDMC VOLCAMC SCIS3 •WEAPOAU OBAMITt- .The River Wear. Incised meander near Cocken .^Introduction . -^I;;^ T TT-V. P(l)-(5) Actoowledgments^ ; , ,, ...... P. (6) A nota on Place Ifames and Eomenclature - ^ . • ' >y . p (7) . Chapter 1,-^^ Stratigraphy, and Structure of the _ page 1 " '. i-1'^- Alston Block. , 2, . The Tertiary Uplift and Resultant. 19 jJ.:...h.:.P^^^^^SQ 9^ Block. ' : \ ^. «» ^ ^ 3. Statistical Investigations of the Upland 30 Surfaces of the Alston Block, " 4. The Intermediate Platforms of the V/ear 40 . Valley, ' . ; " . 5. The Biried Valleys of the Wear Drainage 56 System, 6, The Glaciation of,the ^aston Blookj Summary 73 _ . of former ivork. " 7, The Glacial Drifts and Retreat Deposits of . 86 the Wear Valley. , 8. The Morphology and Distribution of Overflow 100 Channels of the V/ear Valley, , . 9. _ The Glacial Retreat from the V7ear Valley and 114 the Evolution of the Late-Glacial Surfaces. "10. The Post-Glacial Evolution of the River V/ear. 123 " 11, .The Geomorphology of the Wear Valley , 135 Appendix I, Methods of Tield-Work, Survey and Compilation, (i) ,, " II. Developments in the technique and methodology (ix) of Altimetric 5*equency Sampling, " III. Index of Place Names with National Grid Co-ordinates. I. Key to detailed topographical and geological maps. 2# H.E.England. ^-inch Geological Survey (Sheet 4), 3* The Structure of the Carboniferous rocks of the iilston HLook. 4. : The £^ult Pattern of the Alston Block. 5. Alston HLock:. Drainage Pattern and Generalised Contours. 6. Projected Profiles of the Alston Block. 7. : Remnant Surfaces between 400 feet and 1000 feet above Ordnance , _ Datum., .8. The Headwaters of the River V/ear. Detailed topography. 9. The Upper Wear between Wearhead and Brotherlee. Detailed topog. 10. The Wear Valley and Vaskerley Beck near Wolsingham. " " II. The V/ear Valley between Harperley Station & Witton Park. " 12. » » » " . Escomb and Willington. Detailed topog. 13. " " " 1 . Sunderland Bridge and High Hou^all. Detailed topography, drift deposits and section, 14. The v/ear Valley between Drasside and Great Lumley, Topography. 15. " " " near Lambton Castle a Detailed topography. 16. The Browney Valley between I^lton Colliery and Stonebridge. " 17. ' 'J^e Browney-Deemess Interfluve. Detailed topography. 16. Part of the West Durham Plateau between Charlaw and Beamish. " i 19. Weardale,. U^estem Sheet. Drift Deposits, ! 20. Weardal6« Eastern Sheet. Drift Deposits and Buried Valleys. 21. The mddle Wear/Southern Sheet. " " " . i 22. The Mddle Wear,' Northern Sheet. " . " " " 23. The Wear Valley betv/een Harperley Station & Witton Park. Drift deposits,and river terraces. 24. The Post-Glacial Surfaces of. the Wear Valley.. 25. The Headwaters of the River Wear. Interfluve and Spur Profiles. .•• PLATES DT' tlAP FOLDER (Continued), . - 26,; upper. Weardale* ;.. Interfluve and Spur Profiles, 27*. 'Lower ireaxdale, Interfluve and Spur Profiles, 28.*:;^^, T^^ of the River Wear* . ... FIGURES IIT !i^T. S^ontispiece, The River Wear. Incised meander near Cocken, I. , The Rock Succession of the Alston Block and (Inside front .East Durham, • cover). 2.. ,,. Block Diagram of the Alston Block (After derrick) page 6 ..Contours of JSagnesian Limestone Base (After I£ickling) 7 4.. ,.., 13ap illustrating the River Development on the Alston 22 _ mock (After Trotter) / , . 5. The Great Limestone. Glints Crag, Ireshopebum' • 23 6. The Whin Sill. Outcrop at the cirque head of High 23 Cup Gill. 8, Erosion Surfaces in Northern England: Summary of other 25 work, 9, Superimposed Profiles of East Durham, 32 10, The Alston Block, Hypsometric Curve. • ' 33 II. The Alston Block. Altmetric ITrequency Curve and 34 Area-height curve, 12, : Area-Height curres of West Durham, 35 13, Area-Height curves of East Durhsun, 35 14, Altimetric frequency curves. East Durham. 35 15, Comparison of Altiraetric Frequency Curves of _ 38 ^ \Horthem England. 16, The 1000-foot Platform. Vievr West from Wilk»s Hill. 40 17, The West Durham Plateau. Vie\; West along the Browney- 40 Deemess Interfluve frora Lead Hill, 18, . The West Durham Plateau, View west up the BTowney . 42 valley from Lead Hill. 19, Interfluve Profiles pf the V/est Durham Plateau, 42 20, Projected profile of the Shildon Gap etc. 47 21, .I'he Wear Valley near Wolsingham 8 Sections. 53 22, View of the northern part of the Redgate Head Shelf. 53 23, prominent Shelf in the Firestone sillj Stanhopebum 54 JIGURBS IN TEXT. - . , 24, ' Kie Imried valley of the Vear between Shincliffo page 57 and Hiarbourhouse,. (After Hindson & Hopkins), * 25, The River .Wear betv/een Cocken and Chester-le-Street, , 57 ^Boring, raining and field . .. 26, .-.The Buried Valleys of the River Wear. ' f • • 64 27 ,^Longi tudinal profile.,of, the, V/ear- Teem Buried Valley ^; [ " 64 .28, The ilid<tte Wear i Sections through Biried Valleys 67 29". The Mddl© ¥ear and Team : Sections through Buried , 67 .Valleys,' • ' ' . ' • 30, The River Vear between Cocken and Ghester-le-Street, 68 Rock-floor Contours, 31, , Distribution of Indicator Erratics in Northern England 74 .(After Eastwood). 32, -. Glaciation of Northumberland and lairhaza (After Raistricfi:) 74 33,., ,}2ammocky dxif t topography, Veardalo, • 74 .I M.;, ..ilnchale . 96 35, ;;. , Cleaned section of laminated clay . 96 36,. ' « • " , " Detailed section of laminated clay 96 • 37. Glaciation of Northumberland and Durham .i Glacial Lake 100 Overflow Channels. (After Raistrick) 38. Perryhill Gapj Viev/ North from Swan House.; . 100 39. «.;; - View North-east . 104 40, ; « ' » : View South-east ' . ... 104 41. Charlaw Moor Overflow Channel, ; .; .. .104 42. ' The 320-foot Surface. View South-eaat from Kirewell Hall. 118 43. The 190-foot Surface, View South-east from Cocken . ... .118 44, The ^ifemley Col. Viev/ North-west, . „. 131 45, „ JDie ..Parnley Col. Vie^ . - ' -^^"^ FIGURES IH TEXT. I ii: • I. 46. The Fa-mley incised meander. page 131 J', I. t 47, The Lower River Terrace, i'^raley. 132 t 47. 48. 132 le-Street, 49,. The Harbourhouse Col, 133 ' 50, The Alston Block, Mean Dissection per Square Kilometre xiii BUXK DIAGRAM OF THE ALSTON BUXKCAfUP M«rrick) i- • Figure 2, INTRQDUCTIOU, This thesis has been written to summarize the results of three,year»s research. It is a detailed study of many aspects of the morphology of a sin^e ; river system, in a part of Britain which is remote from those . areas exhaustively studied by three generations of .,:„ ...S®omorpholosiata, Consequently, the evolutionary record .'..^..... appears, at present," to be most incomplete, V^heri correlation with adjoining areas cr-n be ciade, when the results of contemporary v/ork elsev/liere in iTorthem England ,V ; are available, the significance of certain landscape features may be; recognised. At present, the writer connot provide . a full account of the evolution of the River l/ear or its associated land forms. This thesis describes and discusses . certain specific problems ;^hich have arisen in consequence - [ of the general survey. The texture of this thesis is ... loosely knit, for, v/ithin its scope are many aspects of the morphological evolution of the area, iTo single tljread of evidence can be followed far enough to give any measure of continuity the different chapters. Tlie country examined during the course .' of field-v?ork lies almost entirely v/ithin the present confines of the Wer^r drainage system. This has an area of roughly ^ 500 square miles. It has not been possible to study tne yhole of the area with equal attention to detail, nor is this desirable in a tract of such varied relief, Field- .^^^ work wao curtailed during two ffaramers, in 1952, by outbrec-ks of foot-and-mouth disease, in 1954, by persistently, bad ^„ weather. Consequently, the extreme south of the ai'ea, the tributary valleys of the River Gaunlegs and Linbum, hi've only received, superficial exo.minaticn in: comparison with the \y" remainder. Plajis for much additional work were abandoned ov/ing to lack of time. For example, it has not been possible to complete the hei^t determination for the longitudinal profiles of certain tributary valleys.