Gaping Gill
| Gaping Gill | |
|---|---|
Entrance shaft viewed from the Main Chamber
|
|
 |
|
| Location | Ingleborough, North Yorkshire, UK |
| OS grid | SD 75117270 |
| Coordinates | 54°08′58″N 2°22′57″W / 54.14956°N 2.382489°WCoordinates: 54°08′58″N 2°22′57″W / 54.14956°N 2.382489°W |
| Depth | 192 metres (630 ft) |
| Length | 21 kilometres (13 mi) (including Ingleborough Cave) |
| Geology | Carboniferous limestone |
| Entrances | 21 |
| Access | Ingleborough Estate Office |
| BRAC grade | 4 |
Gaping Gill (also known as Gaping Ghyll) is a natural cave in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the unmistakable landmarks on the southern slopes of Ingleborough – a 98-metre (322 ft) deep pothole with the stream Fell Beck flowing into it. After falling through one of the largest known underground chambers in Britain, the water disappears into the bouldery floor and eventually resurges adjacent to Ingleborough Cave.
The shaft was the deepest known in Britain, until Titan in Derbyshire was discovered in 1999. Gaping Gill still retains the records for the highest unbroken waterfall in England and the largest underground chamber naturally open to the surface.
Due to the number of entrances which connect into the cave, many different routes through and around the system are possible. Other entrances include Jib Tunnel, Disappointment Pot, Stream Passage Pot, Bar Pot, Hensler's Pot, Corky's Pot, Rat Hole, and Flood Entrance Pot.
The Bradford Pothole Club around Whitsun May Bank Holiday, and the Craven Pothole Club around August Bank Holiday, each set up a winch above the shaft to provide a ride to the bottom and back out again for any member of the public who pays a fee.
A detailed 3D model of the chamber has been created using an industrial laser rangefinder which showed that its volume is comparable to the size of York Minster.
The first recorded attempted descent was by John Birkbeck in 1842 who reached a ledge approximately 55 metres (180 ft) down the shaft which bears his name. The first complete descent was achieved by Édouard-Alfred Martel in 1895. In 1983 members of the Cave Diving Group made the underwater connection into Ingleborough Cave.
...
Wikipedia