Lakes of the Lake District: Difference between revisions

The lakes of the Lake District are creations of nature; beautiful and inspiring. The National Park is home to the deepest lake. It is also home to the four largest lakes in England and Wales.<ref>Smith, ''Big Lakes of Lakeland'',(2012) p.3.</ref> Set against a backdrop of Lakeland mountains, known locally as fells, one can easily conjure up thoughts of bygone authors and poets who so loved their craft; forever sealing a picturesque impression of a romanticised setting in one of the wettest parts of the UK.

Words prefixed with a * are [[Wiktionary:Reconstructed terms| reconstructed words]]. This means they have not been directly attested, but instead are hypothesised to have existed based on comparative evidence.

The whole process of ice excavation can be described in fairly simple terms, when in reality, it involves a complex set of stages working together. Essentially, the movement of glaciers' grinds and pulls apart the bedrock on which it sits. Dr Alan Smith's book, ''The Big Lakes of Lakeland'', describes this process clearly, without over complicating an already complex set of processes. With nowhere else to go except to follow the flow of ice, the broken pieces of rock were then transported as the ice moved along the valleys, in the case of the Lake District, radially in an outward direction from a central core. This core was so thick that maybe only the tips of the highest peaks of [[Scafell]], [[Helvellyn]], [[Bowfell]], and [[Great Gable]] were visible.<ref name="smith12">Smith, ''Big Lakes of Lakeland'',(2012) p.12</ref> The Last Glacial Maximum was approximately 22,000 years ago and up to that point in time, the ice had been steadily increasing until it reached its maximum, hence the name. All the big lakes were excavated by the ice during this Last Glacial Maximum, a segment of the Last Glacial Period, which encompassed a timeframe between 115,000 - 11,700 years ago. By 13,550 years ago, the ice sheets had retreated and the "valley glaciers had melted away and a new landscape of ice scoured fells and lakes left impounded in the valley floors was revealed."<ref name="smith12"/>

So, what is plucking? Plucking is a process that removes large fragments of rock under immense pressures and moves them to other locations, sometimes lengthy distances from their original position. This is similar to quarrying, except instead of explosives and heavy machinery, ice does all the hard work. For plucking to be most effective, '''Fracturing''' needs to take place. This is a separate process that weakens the bedrock along naturally occurring joints and fractures, prior to being broken up.<ref name="smith13">Smith, ''Big Lakes of Lakeland'',(2012) p.13</ref> As Dr Smith explains, these weaknesses in the rocks may be enough for the ice break away these weakened fragments. However, not all rocks were made equal, and because of this, harder and softer rocks are broken up differently. As the upper layers of bedrock are plucked, the lower layers of rock 'relaxes' and 'unloads' as the pressure of weight is relieved.<ref name="smith13"/> This then results in the lower layers eventually fracturing and weakening for further plucking to take place. This cycle could repeat for many thousands of years.

Another process that aids plucking is the '''Entraining''' of rock fragments as they are pulled away by the ice. '''Abrasion''' occurs when these loose fragments are "incorporated into the flowing ice at the base of the glacier" where they become "tools to abrade and scrape the bedrock they pass over," effectively acting as a "rough file or piece of coarse sandpaper, wearing away at the valley floor."<ref name="smith14">Smith, ''Big Lakes of Lakeland'',(2012) p.14</ref> Plucking can remove more volume of rock than abrasion, but the two working together provides an effective system to radically redesign a landscape. Meltwater from crevasses can also aid plucking, with constant erosion from the movement of water. 'Warm glaciers' are those with a temperature close to zero degrees, or the melting point. Larger volumes of water provides a greater flow of ice across the bedrock, and an increase in speed in which the ice travels.<ref name="smith14"/> This was the case with the lakes in Lakeland, although some were created with more complex processes, such as those with two basins: [[Windermere]] and [[Ullswater]].

The lakes have been immortalised in text and image by the very people, past and present, with a passion for this rugged landscape. The big lakes are the quintessence of Lakeland, and listed below are 17 bodies of water that give this National Park its name. How these are classified, one could rightly surmise, is by size. Whilst the humble [[tarn]] is usually reserved for the smaller bodies of water, size alone is not the only trait for the lakes. Some tarns are bigger than the smallest of the big lakes, for example, [[Burnmoor Tarn]] near [[Wast Water]], and [[Seathwaite Tarn]] near the [[Old Man of Coniston]], both of which are bigger than [[Elter Water]] and [[Brothers Water]].<ref>Smith, ''Smaller Lakes and Tarns'',(2014) p.8.</ref>

Buttermere is a photogenic and naturally beautiful ribbon lake, set amongst the backdrop of striking fells and picturesque countryside, with “some"some of the finest glacial features of the district.”"<ref name=“smith78”"smith78">Smith (2012) p.78</ref> The 12th largest lake from our list is located at the head of the Buttermere Valley where it sits in a glacial trough along with its neighbours [[Crummock Water]] and [[Loweswater]]; the only valley in Lakeland with three lakes. The name ''Buttermere'' means ''the lake with good pasture-land'', which comes from Old English ''[[wiktionary:butere#Old_English|butere]]'' (butter) and ''[[wiktionary:mere#Old_English|mere]]'' (lake, pool).<ref name="whaley61">Whaley (2006) p.61</ref> Another possible origin of the name has links with Jarl Boethar (also known as "Buthar"), an 11th century Norse Earl who'd attained lands around Buttermere, and was the leader of an Anglo-Scandinavian resistance against the Normans under Ranulf le Meschin, Lord of Cumberland.<ref name="whaley61"/>

Due to Manchester’s increasing demand for drinking water, parliament granted the Manchester Corporation permission to dam the northern end of the lake, and create a water supply reservoir. This came at a cost to the long-time residents of the valley. The original water level of the lake was raised by 29 metres,<ref>Smith, ''Big Lakes of Lakeland'',(2012) p.101</ref> the damming resulted in the relocation of the residents who lived in the villages of Mardale, Measand and a scattering of other farmsteads. Abandoned buildings were demolished by the Royal Engineers, including the Dun Bull Inn and Holy Trinity Church, but the drystone field boundary walls and the old chapel bridge still survive, seen when the water levels are unusually low.<ref>Smith, ''Big Lakes of Lakeland'',(2012) p.103</ref>