Vale of Pickering

The Vale of Pickering is a valley in North Yorkshire, England. It is located in east-west direction between the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Wolds. The valley is bounded on the east by the North Sea, it occupies the site of the former glacial lake Lake Pickering, to the west limit the Howardian Hills of the valley.

Lake Pickerung was a glacial lake whose drain was blocked to the North Sea through the ice the Vistula glaciation. Ultimately, it flowed from the southwest, where the Kirkham Gorge is today. The slow drying out of Lake Pickering a diverse landscape from sediments, river marshes, ditches and rivers and swamps and bogs developed in the Vale. Since the first historically documented land reclamation efforts by the Riveaulx Abbey in the 12th century, the land was drained. Today, the country is fully drained, ditches criss-cross the landscape, the former bog and marsh areas indicate mainly place names.

Today the Rye and Derwent flows through the valley in the Izse and made in the history of numerous floods. The Rye flows in the Vale in the Derwent. Due to the glacial events of the Derwent flows in the valley mainly from the North Sea off until he leaves it to the south, to flow into the Ouse. The settlements and infrastructure are concentrated at the Talrändern on higher ground area. On the north side of the valley today followed the A170 Helmsley to Scarborough the settlement boundary. On the slopes of the limestone mountains in the north was always fresh water available.

This soft water comes primarily from the North York Moors. While in the western inland fields and hedges dominate the landscape, is predominant in the eastern part of a typical marsh: dikes, drainage ditches and reed beds dominate the landscape.