Cat Hole - Where does all that water come from?

[Cave Mapper]

Yesterday afternoon, after a couple of thunderstorms over Ingleborough there was a LOT of water coming out of Cat Hole:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nscNrbyMWo

Is this cave worth a trip? And where does all that water come from?

 

[langcliffe]

It's an overflow for Moses Well. It's an interesting trip, not least for the painful crawling over the basement rocks.

 

[Pitlamp]

The only reasonable reference to it I've come across was Bob Leakey's article in Speleologist Vol.2 No.1 (Sept 1957) but that was long before the present limit was reached. CDG literature contains a few brief mentions including when Rupert Skorupka had a diving attempt in there in the early 80s (PM me if you want me to look these up). One of these CDG references has the survey of Moses Well. The Northern Caves description doesn't mention a long section of crawling - it's not an especially nice cave!

It's a flood overflow from the Newby Moss potholes to the northwest, the drainage route being largely guided by a series of NW - SE step faults. That gigantic shakehole behind Clapdale Farm (and visible from the wall limiting the field containing the track up to GG from Newby Cote) has been tested to Moses Well - and presumably some of this water will emerge from Cat Hole in flood?

 

[Beardy]

Hi Pitlamp

if you have a passing interest in Cat Hole you might enjoy the following
regards
Beardy

The British Caver 28  Cotta, M. Cat Hole Expedition - saturday 18/4/53 18-21  1957 
ULSA Explorations Journal II  ULSA Monico, P. Section 9, Gaping Gill, Cat Hole 102 August 1989 
ULSA Review  13 ULSA Anon. Digs and Discoveries 2 November 1974

 

[Pitlamp]

Nice one Beardy!