# Norber erratics

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Group of glacial boulders in England

Norber erratic, December 2014

Norber Erratic, above Austwick at dawn in November 2025

Norber Erratic, above Austwick at dawn in November 2025

The **Norber erratics** are a group of [glacial erratic](/source/Glacial_erratic) boulders in Britain. They are found on the southern slopes of [Ingleborough](/source/Ingleborough), close to the village of [Austwick](/source/Austwick) in the [Yorkshire Dales](/source/Yorkshire_Dales). The [Ordnance Survey](/source/Ordnance_Survey) grid reference of the boulder field is [SD764698](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Norber_erratics&params=54.123513_N_2.362587_W_region:GB_scale:25000).

The erratics are classic [geomorphological](/source/Geomorphology) features from the glaciation of northern England. In his chapter on the [Pennines](/source/Pennines), [A. E. Trueman](/source/A._E._Trueman) wrote: "Particularly well known are the great perched blocks of dark grit which stand on the limestone platform at Norber near Settle."[1]

Many of the [Silurian](/source/Silurian) [greywacke](/source/Greywacke)[2] boulders at the site are perched on pedestals of [limestone](/source/Limestone) up to 30cm high. The boulders were probably deposited by melting ice sheets at the end of the [last ice age](/source/Last_glacial_period), around 12,000 years ago. The pedestals have developed because the [erratic](/source/Glacial_erratic) boulders have protected the underlying [limestone](/source/Limestone) from solution by rainfall, giving estimates of the rate of lowering of the surrounding [limestone pavement](/source/Limestone_pavement) of around 25mm per 1000 years.[3] Recent [cosmogenic dating](/source/Cosmogenic_nuclide) suggests that the boulders have been exposed for around 17,900 years.[4]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Trueman, A.E.](/source/A.E._Trueman) (1949). *Geology and Scenery in England and Wales*. Pelican. p. 169.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Edwards, W.; Trotter, F. M. (1954). *British Regional Geology: The Pennines and Adjacent Areas*. HMSO.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Goudie, A.; Gardner, R. (1992). *Discovering Landscape in England and Wales*. Chapman and Hall.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Drury, S. (2013). ["Update on a classic British field site"](https://wileyearthpages.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/update-on-a-classic-british-field-site/). Retrieved 15 October 2021.

[54°07′24″N 2°21′36″W / 54.1234°N 2.3601°W / 54.1234; -2.3601](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Norber_erratics&params=54.1234_N_2.3601_W_source:wikidata)

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