149 FEATURE © Blackwell Publishing Ltd, The Geologists’ Association & The Geological Society of London, Geology Today, Vol. 27, No. 4, July–August 2011 Feature Lake District hillslopes Peter Wilson Environmental Sciences Research Institute, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK p.wilson@ulster.ac.uk The Lake District is a region of great scenic beauty in north-west England that has inspired artists and poets alike, and which comes high on the list of classic geological localities in Great Britain in terms of both bedrock and geomorphological features. With its inspiring views, the Lake District is often portrayed as the product of repeated glaciation, mainly because of the clarity of the erosional and depositional features that can be seen there. But since the last glaciers disappeared other processes have been modifying the landscape, processes that have superimposed their own signatures on to the glacial features. Hillslopes in particular have undergone significant changes, as a result of slope failures in both bedrock and superficial sediments. Although these landforms are not unknown, they have not received the same level of investigation as the glacial features, resulting in a limited appreciation of their spatial distribution and significance in reshaping the landscape. This article outlines the characteristics and origins of some slope failure types, and demonstrates that there is still much to learn about the Lake District landscape. It sometimes seems as if everybody has visited Eng- land’s Lake District. Ever since Thomas West’s Guide to the Lakes in 1778, which drew attention to diversity in the physical landscape, people have been going there to see for themselves. There can be no denying that today, 233 years later, the area is extremely pop- ular with holidaymakers, outdoor enthusiasts, and school and university field study groups undertaking geology, geomorphology, ecology and archaeology. Explanatory information, complemented by stunning photographs, on almost every aspect of the landscape can now be accessed with just a few clicks of a com- puter mouse. Classic sites have been interpreted (and re-interpreted) and published in user-friendly formats for both serious researchers and students, and also for those whose interest is simply ‘out of curiosity’. This may lead one to ask, about an area that has been romanticised in words and pictures as static and enduring, ‘Is there anything else to learn?’ The answer, of course, is a resounding yes, because the mountains of the Lake District have been and con- tinue to be dynamic elements of nature, rather than a stable backdrop to life, industry and recreation. They are a superb natural laboratory for those wanting to know more about the evolution of a landscape once described as ‘nowt but stanes and watter’. Because the erosional and depositional effects of glaciation are so apparent it has often been thought that Lake District geomorphology can be explained in terms of glaciation alone—or, to put it another way, other landscape processes and resulting landforms are insignificant. While it may be true that the visual impact of glaciation remains clear, in the millennia that have passed since the last glaciers disappeared many other processes have been at work. Some of these processes are still operating, others no longer so, but together they have modified the glacial landforms and have left their own signatures in the landscape. It is with some of the lesser-known aspects of the Lake District landscape that this article is concerned. Earth tremors It isn’t everyday that an earthquake shakes the Lake District, but they do occur. The most recent was at 10:59 pm on Tuesday 21 December 2010. Accord- ing to the British Geological Survey the epicentre was 2 km north-northwest of Coniston at a depth of 14.3 km. The magnitude was 3.5 and the tremor was felt and heard across a wide area. No serious