Malham Tarn

---

title: "Malham Tarn" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["glacial-lakes-of-england", "lakes-of-north-yorkshire", "national-nature-reserves-in-england", "aire-catchment", "ramsar-sites-in-england", "sites-of-special-scientific-interest-in-north-yorkshire", "sites-of-special-scientific-interest-notified-in-1955", "river-aire", "malham"] description: "Natural upland lake in North Yorkshire, England" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malham_Tarn" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Natural upland lake in North Yorkshire, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox body of water"]

Field	Value
name	Malham Tarn
image	Malham Tarn 2.jpg
pushpin_map	North Yorkshire
pushpin_map_alt	North Yorkshire map
caption	A view of the north-east corner of Malham Tarn
alt	Image of an upland lake surrounded by hills and trees
image_bathymetry	Malham Tarn map.png
alt_bathymetry	A relief map of North Yorkshire showing the location of Malham Tarn
caption_bathymetry	Malham Tarn shown within North Yorkshire
location	Yorkshire Dales, England
coords
type	Glacial
catchment	6 km2
basin_countries	United Kingdom
area	0.62 km2
depth	2.4 m
max-depth	4.4 m
residence_time	11 weeks
elevation	377 m
embedded	{{Designation list
embed	yes
designation1	Ramsar
designation1_date	28 October 1993
designation1_number	634}}
::

|name = Malham Tarn |image = Malham Tarn 2.jpg |pushpin_map=North Yorkshire |pushpin_map_alt = North Yorkshire map |caption = A view of the north-east corner of Malham Tarn |alt = Image of an upland lake surrounded by hills and trees |image_bathymetry = Malham Tarn map.png |alt_bathymetry = A relief map of North Yorkshire showing the location of Malham Tarn |caption_bathymetry = Malham Tarn shown within North Yorkshire |location = Yorkshire Dales, England |coords = |type = Glacial |inflow = |outflow = |catchment = 6 km2 |basin_countries = United Kingdom |length = |width = |area = 0.62 km2 |depth = 2.4 m |max-depth = 4.4 m |volume = |residence_time = 11 weeks |shore = |elevation = 377 m |islands = |cities = |embedded = {{Designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = Ramsar | designation1_date = 28 October 1993 | designation1_number = 634}}

Malham Tarn is a glacial lake near the village of Malham in the Yorkshire Dales, England. The lake is one of only eight upland alkaline lakes in Europe. At an altitude of 377 m above sea level it is the highest marl lake in the United Kingdom. Its geology, flora and fauna have led to it being listed under a number of conservation designations. The site is currently owned by the National Trust, who used to lease part of the site to the Field Studies Council but this closed as a field centre in 2022. The site was the inspiration for Charles Kingsley's 1863 novel The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby.

Geography

Malham Tarn is situated in the Yorkshire Dales, a national park in the Yorkshire Pennines. It lies approximately 25 mi north-west of Bradford and about 2.5 mi north of the nearest settlement, Malham.

At 377 m above sea level it is sometimes, but erroneously, considered the highest lake in England, but there are lakes at higher altitudes such as Innominate Tarn. It is, however, the highest marl lake in Great Britain. The lake is one of only eight upland alkaline lakes in Europe, having a pH between 8.0 and 8.6. The catchment area of the lake is 600 ha and the main inflow is a stream at the lake's north-west corner. The lake is 4.4 m at its deepest, with an average depth of 2.4 m and the surface area is 62 ha. It takes approximately 11 weeks for water to leave the lake after it has entered. The primary outflow is a small stream at the southern end of the lake. The outflow stream goes underground after approximately 500 m before emerging downstream of Malham Cove as a source of the River Aire.

Climate

The highest recorded temperature at Malham Tarn was 28.6°C on 24 July 2019.

Natural history

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Airedale_1922_OS_Map.png" caption="sigfig=2}}."] ::

The lake is home to six species of fish, as well as white-clawed crayfish, great crested grebes, moorhens, coots, tufted ducks and teal. A number of waders such as redshanks, curlews, lapwings and oystercatchers breed in the surrounding area. Two rare benthic copepods, Bryocamptus rhaeticus and Moraria mrazeki, are found in the lake, along with 22 species of molluscs—nine of which are found at their highest altitude in Britain. The lake also contains a number of submerged aquatic plants, while the surrounding area is home to a diverse number of plants including wild cranberry, bearberry, crowberry, dark-leaved willow and purple moor grass. Last seen fifty years ago, captive-bred water voles (Arvicola amphibius) were reintroduced in August 2016. This is the highest reintroduction of water vole in the UK.

The lake is located in the Malham and Arncliffe Site of Special Scientific Interest which was established in 1955. In 1992, the lake and its wetlands were designated as a national nature reserve. The lake was listed as a Ramsar Convention site in 1993. It is also in the Craven Limestone Complex Special Area of Conservation.

History

There has been human activity at Malham Tarn dating back to the Mesolithic era when the shores of the lake were used for camping during hunting trips for deer and wild cattle. During the Bronze and Iron Ages, the surrounding area was settled by farmers who used the land for grazing. Following the Roman conquest of Britain the upland areas were not seen as attractive and the only Roman presence in the area was a marching camp on Malham Moor. During the Medieval period the lands were owned by the Monasteries, and their use for grazing continued. A survey undertaken in 1539 at the time of the dissolution of Fountains Abbey makes note of a farmstead on the northern shore of the lake.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Malham_tarn_house.jpg" caption="National Trust]], who manage the property and previously leased the house to the [[Field Studies Council]]. The Field Studies Council vacated Malham Tarn House in 2023 and the house is now back under the sole occupancy of the National Trust. The house exterior and the surrounding countryside can be seen in the 1951 film ''[[Another Man's Poison]]''."] ::

In late 2023, the National Trust refurbished the North Wing buildings to the rear of Malham Tarn House, which are now occupied by the Trust's Yorkshire Dales staff and volunteers. The site also serves as a base for the National Trust's team of Rangers, as well as staff working on the 'Heart of the Dales' Landscape Recovery scheme.

References

References

1. "Malham Tarn".
2. (2008). "Limestone Country. Final Report". Limestone Country Project.
3. Tate, Lesley. (31 August 2022). "'Iconic' Malham Tarn field studies centre to close".
4. (19 August 2016). "Water voles to be reintroduced to England's highest lake". The Guardian.
5. (15 September 2015). "Seek out inspiring views atop Malham Cove". Visit England.
6. Bradley, P.. (March 2002). "White-clawed Crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) At Craven Limestone Complex SAC, North Yorkshire". [[Field Studies Council]].
7. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough. (13 June 2008). "Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands UK11038 Malham Tarn". Ramsar.
8. (2010). "Go slow Yorkshire dales & moors : local, characterful guides to Britain's special places". Bradt Travel Guides.
9. Allan Pentecost. (2009). "The Marl Lakes of the British Isles". Freshwater Reviews.
10. "KNMI - Malham Tarn maximum temperature time series". KNMI.
11. Paul F. Holmes. (1965). "The Natural History of Malham Tarn". Field Studies.
12. "Malham Tarn NNR". Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.
13. "Copepoda taxon details - Moraria".
14. (October 2016). "Ratty's Rise".
15. "The Annotated Ramsar List: United Kingdom". [[Ramsar Convention.
16. "Craven Limestone Complex". [[National Biodiversity Network]].
17. "Out of Oblivion: Malhamdale". Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.
18. "Malham Tarn & House". KirkbyMalham.info.
19. (22 November 2007). "Inspiration for leap of imagination". [[Yorkshire Post]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::