River Crimple

Crimple Beck
River Crimple
Crimple near Pannal
Country	England
County	North Yorkshire
Source
- location	Stainburn Moor
Mouth
- location	River Nidd
- coordinates	53°58′20″N 1°23′01″W / 53.972113°N 1.383731°W / 53.972113; -1.383731Coordinates: 53°58′20″N 1°23′01″W / 53.972113°N 1.383731°W / 53.972113; -1.383731
Length	24.9 km (15 mi)
Basin	80 km2 (31 sq mi)
Discharge	for Blackstones
- average	1.02 m3/s (36 cu ft/s)
Location of the mouth within North Yorkshire

Crimple Beck or the River Crimple is a beck which flows through North Yorkshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Nidd which it joins between Little Ribston and Walshford north of Wetherby. The beck is 15.5 miles (24.9 km) long, and has a total catchment area of 80 square kilometres (31 sq mi), which drains the area around Harrogate. Its tributaries include the Park Beck.

The beck rises on the flanks of Stainburn Moor near Beckwithshaw and flows in an easterly direction to join the Nor Beck before passing through the villages of Burn Bridge and Pannal It continues in a north-easterly direction being bridged by the A61 and the Crimple Viaduct to the south of Harrogate. At the confluence with the Rud Brook it turns to the south-east, and meets the Park Brook before reaching Spofforth where it is bridged by the A661. Beyond Spofforth its course continues to Blackstones where it is measured, joining the River Nidd midway between Little Ribston and Walshford.

The flow of the beck is measured by two gauging stations, the first near Burn Bridge in its upper reaches has operated since 1972, the second near to the confluence with the Nidd, at Blackstones since 1991.

The upper gauge at Burn Bridge, with a catchment area of 8.1 square kilometres (3.1 sq mi) yields an average flow of 0.11 cubic metres per second (3.9 cu ft/s). The much larger catchment area of 76.8 square kilometres (29.7 sq mi) to the lower Blackstones gauge, recorded a correspondingly higher average flow of 1.02 cubic metres per second (36 cu ft/s).

The highest river level recorded at Blackstones occurred on the 26 December 2015, with a height of 2.98 metres (9 ft 9 in). The catchment upstream of the station has an average annual rainfall of 752 millimetres (29.6 in) and a maximum altitude of 243 metres (797 ft) on Stainburn Moor near the source of the beck.