North Pennines | |
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Location | County Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire & Cumbria counties, England |
Max. elevation | Cross Fell 893 m (2,930 ft) |
Designated | Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty • UNESCO Global Geopark |
The North Pennines is the northernmost section of the Pennine range of hills which runs north–south through northern England. It lies between Carlisle to the west and Darlington to the east, straddling the borders of the counties of Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland and North Yorkshire. It is bounded to the north by the Tyne Valley and to the south by the Stainmore Gap.
As a sparsely-populated upland region known for its moorland ecology and industrial archaeology, a large part of the North Pennines is protected as a National Landscape and a UNESCO Global Geopark. Several major rivers rise in the North Pennines, including the Tees and Wear, and form the Durham Dales valleys.