Pennines, the

Range of hills in northern England, known as the ‘the backbone of England’; length (from the Scottish border to the Peaks in Derbyshire) 400 km/250 mi. The highest peak in the Pennines (which are sometimes referred to mountains rather than hills) is Cross Fell (893 m/2,930 ft). It is the watershed for the main rivers of northeast England.

The rocks of the Pennines are carboniferous limestone and millstone grit, the land high moorland and fell. The Pennine Way, Britain's first long-distance footpath (opened in 1965), extends along the length of the range.

The rivers Eden, Kibble, and Mersey rise in the Pennines and flow westwards towards the Atlantic, while the Tyne, Tees, Swale, Aire, Don, and Trent, which also rise in the region, flow eastwards to the North Sea. Principal summits of the Pennines include Whernside (736 m/2,415 ft), Ingleborough (723 m/2,372 ft), Pen-y-ghent (693 m/2,274 ft), and Kinder Scout (636 m/2,087 ft). Underground caverns and watercourses have developed as a result of water action. Among these caverns and chasms are Gaping Hill (over 107 m/350 ft deep) and Rowten Pot (111 m/365 ft deep).