The Dent Fault is a major fault zone on the boundary between the counties of Cumbria and North Yorkshire in northern England. It is named after the village of Dent in Dentdale, on the western margin of the Yorkshire Dales.
The fault, or rather the 'Dent Fault System' – a collection of closely associated faults and folds, defines the western edge of the Askrigg Block, a geological structure that underlies the Yorkshire Dales. The fault is associated with the Taythes Anticline to its west and the Fell End Syncline to its east. Other than vertical movement on the fault, there has also been an element of strike-slip movement.
To the north, the fault links with the Pennine Fault System in the vicinity of Brough and with the Craven Fault System near Kirkby Lonsdale to the south.[1]
- ^ Stone et al. 2010 British Regional Geology: Northern England (5th edition) Keyworth, Notts, British Geological Survey