BECKERMONDS POTS, WHARFEDALE

These two small caves, first described by Jowett at al. appear in Pennine Underground as two separate caves whereas they do, in fact, both converge upon one large chamber. They are of no great import but served to provide three members with a pleasant afternoon's surveying practice where it was possible to make a loop. The closure error was about one foot. The "system" displays its mode of formation very clearly and the only remark that need be added to the survey is to point out that the bedding plane aa', bb', cc' which contains a shale band forms the roof of the big chamber which itself probably represents an earlier epiphreatic stage. Both inlet streams derive from the same surface stream, its upper sink reappearing in Beckermonds II and the lower sink in Beckermonds I. The water almost certainly reappears in a cave further down the dry valley but a short way from the river.

This area still holds good pottering prospects for the odd afternoon and may yield a few short, amusing caves with photographic possibilities.