| Three Counties System | |
|---|---|
 Duke Street in Ireby Fell Cavern II | |
  | |
| Location | North-West England |
| Coordinates | 54°12′25″N 2°30′23″W / 54.20699°N 2.506452°W |
| Depth | 253 metres (830 ft)[1] |
| Length | about 90 kilometres (56 mi)[2] |
| Geology | Carboniferous limestone |
| Entrances | 54 [3] |
| Difficulty | Various |
| Hazards | Various |
| Access | Various[4] |
The Three Counties System is a set of inter-connected limestone solutional cave systems spanning the borders of Cumbria, Lancashire and North Yorkshire in the north of England. The possibility of connecting a number of discrete cave systems in the area to create a single super-system that spans the county borders was first proposed by Dave Brook in 1968, and it was achieved in 2011. The system is currently about 90 kilometres (56 mi) long, making it the longest in the UK and the thirty-fourth longest in the world, and there continues to be scope for considerably extending the system.[5]
- ^ Allshorn, Sam; Swire, Paul (2017). Northern Caves – The Three Counties System and the North-West. Leeds: High Mead. p. 7. ISBN 9781527210950.
- ^ Pearson, Frank (June–July 2024). "North by North End Pot". Descent (298): 17.
- ^ Gardner, John. "The Three Counties System – A List Of Entrances". Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Caving Access: Three Counties System & the North West". Council of Northern Caving Clubs. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
- ^ Burger, Paul. "World's Longest Caves". Retrieved 6 June 2024.