The landscape of Malhamdale is dominated by the influence of limestone, and includes some of the most spectacular examples of this type of scenery within the Yorkshire Dales National Park and within the United Kingdom as a whole.

Great Scar limestone dominates the scenery around Malham, attaining a thickness of over 200m. It was formed in the Carboniferous period, some 330 million years ago, by the slow deposition of shell debris and chemical precipitates on the floor of a shallow tropical sea. The presence of faultlines creates dramatic variations in the scenery. South of Malham Tarn is the North Craven Fault, and Malham Cove and Gordale Scar, two miles to the south, were formed by the Mid Craven Fault. Easy erosion of the softer shale rocks to the south of the latter fault has created a sharp southern edge to the limestone plateau north of the fault. This step in the landscape was further developed by erosion during the various ice ages when glaciers flowing from the north deepened the basin where the tarn now stands and scoured the rock surface between the tarn and the village, leading later to the formation of limestone pavements. Glacial meltwater carved out the Watlowes dry valley above the cove. 

There are a number of theories as to the formation of the vertical wall of limestone that forms Malham Cove, whose origins appear to be in a combination of erosion by ice, water and underground water. It is thought that water pouring down the Watlowes valley would have cascaded over the cove and cut the waterfall back about 600 metres from the faultline, although this does not explain why the cove is wider than the valley above. Glaciers flowing over the cove could have contributed to the width of the wall. After the ice retreated the water sank underground, some of which resurged at the foot of the cliff and continued to undercut parts of the limestone wall.

Gordale is a rocky trench through the limestone and it also ends in a major step associated with the Mid Craven Fault. Ice Age meltwater scoured Gordale and its cascades over the fault scarp rapidly cut backwards into Gordale Scar. The narrow gorge with its limestone sides soaring nearly 100 metres is a fine example of a gorge formed by a retreat waterfall. The beck water is saturated with lime which is redeposited as calcite to form the tufa which characterises the waterfalls at Gordale and downstream at Janet’s Foss. 

Limestone pavements are a particularly well-developed feature at the head of Malham Cove and within the uplands surrounding Malhamdale. Further conspicuous surface features include the funnel-like depressions known as shakeholes, swallowholes or sinks.

In addition to the above ground landscape, an extensive underground landscape of cave systems exists in the Great Scar limestone. Water, sinking into the ground within the Great Scar limestone, re-emerges above the impervious slate layer below.

Thin seams of coal occur within the shale of the Yoredale series to the north. Coal has in the past been extracted on the summit of Fountains Fell.

The River Aire has its origins above Malham Cove and flows in a southerly direction for 6-7km leaving the National Park at Bell Busk. 

Dales Fringes

The dales fringes represent a transitional area between the uplands of the Yorkshire Dales and the lower lying areas to the south and south west. Mainly overlying a mixture of gritstone and limestone, the principal influences in the lower lying parts of the fringe areas are the overlying deposits of boulder clay or glacial drift. At an elevation of between 200 and 300 metres AOD these deposits form oval or round domed shaped hills, known as drumlins, which significantly shape landscape character.

Parts of the fringe areas, particularly in the north, are shaped by the Craven faultlines. The North Craven Fault follows the approximate line of the north eastern edge of the area north of Settle and marks a change in the underlying geology from limestone to the north and east to Millstone Grit, Permian and Triassic sandstones, Westphalian, Stephanian and Lower Westphalian coal measures to the south and west, while limestone extends down into the valleys of Clapham and Austwick Becks. The South Craven Fault also crosses the area in the vicinity of Austwick and Clapham. This change in underlying geology is reflected in a marked change in landscape character and vegetation patterns between the transitional slopes and the adjacent uplands.