Borrowdale
1473207
214635181
2008-05-24T14:42:38Z
67.86.73.252
mention that the mine is close to the Seathwaite hamlet instead of the Fell. Add references to back up the claim.
[[Image:Borrowdale at dusk.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Derwent Water in Borrowdale at dusk]]
[[Image:derwent-water.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Southern Aspect of [[Derwent Water]] and [[fells]]]]
:''See [[Borrowdale, Westmorland]] for the valley in the southeast of the Lake District''.
'''Borrowdale''' is a valley in the [[Lake District|English Lake District]] in [[Cumbria]], [[England]].
Borrowdale lies within the [[Historic counties of England|historic county boundaries]] of [[Cumberland, England|Cumberland]], and is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' in order to distinguish it from [[Borrowdale, Westmorland|another Borrowdale]] in the historic county of [[Westmorland]]. It is also the name of an extensive [[civil parish]] in the [[Allerdale]] district, that includes the valley and some of the [[fell]]s surrounding it. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 438.
==Geography==
The valley rises in the central [[Lake District]] and runs north carrying the [[River Derwent, Cumbria|River Derwent]] into the lake of [[Derwent Water]]. The waters of the River have their origins over a wide area of the central massif of the Lake District north of Esk Hause and Stake Pass, including draining the northern end of [[Scafell]] including [[Great End]], the eastern side of the [[Dale Head]] massif, the western part of the Central Fells and all of the [[Glaramara]] ridge. Near Rosthwaite the side valley of Langstrath joins the main valley from Seathwaite before the combined waters negotiate the narrow gap known as the ''Jaws of Borrowdale''. Here it is flanked by the rocky crags of [[Castle Crag]] and [[Grange Fell]]. The valley then opens out around Grange before the river empties into [[Derwent Water]], overlooked by [[Catbells]], [[Skiddaw]] and [[Walla Crag]].
The valley lends its name to the [[Borrowdale Volcanic Group]], a [[geology|geological]] development from the [[Ordovician]] period. This rock makes up most of the mountains at the head of Borrowdale, including [[Scafell Pike]] and [[Great Gable]].
The [[B5289 road]] runs down the full length of the valley, and at the southern end crosses the [[Honister Pass]] to [[Buttermere]].
==Economy==
The valley is a very popular tourist location, with [[hotel]]s, [[Guesthouse|guesthouses]], [[Holiday cottage|holiday cottages]], [[bed and breakfast]]s, and [[camping|campsites]], catering for the lowland visitor as well as the [[hillwalking|hill-walker]] who can choose from a very wide range of popular [[mountain]]s, including all the above-mentioned fells as well as [[England]]'s highest, [[Scafell Pike]].
Some time prior to 1565 (some sources say as early as 1500), an enormous deposit of [[graphite]] was discovered near the [[Seathwaite (Borrowdale)|Seathwaite]] hamlet near Borrowdale parish.<ref name="norgate">{{cite web
|url=http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/thelakes/html/lgaz/lk00976.htm
|title=Old Cumbria Gazetteer, black lead mine, Seathwaite
|year=2008
|author=Martin and Jean Norgate, Geography Department, Portsmouth University
|accessdate=2008-05-19}}</ref><ref name="wainwright_western">{{cite book|title=A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Western Fells
|author=Alfred Wainwright
|year=2005
|isbn=0-7112-2460-9
}}</ref> The locals found that it was very useful for marking sheep. This particular deposit of graphite was extremely pure and solid and it could easily be sawed into sticks, and so the [[pencil]] industry was born in nearby [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]]. This was and remains the only deposit of graphite ever found in this solid form.
==References==
<references/>
{{coor title dms|54|31|45|N|3|08|45|W|region:GB_type:mountain}}
[[Category:Valleys of Cumbria]]
[[de:Borrowdale]]