53°42′04″N 0°28′37″W / 53.7012°N 0.477047°W / 53.7012; -0.477047

Map showing the Lincolnshire Wolds and the southern part of the Yorkshire Wolds, separated by the Humber west of Kingston upon Hull

The Humber Gap is a term for the geographic gap between the roughly north–south running line of hills formed by the Yorkshire Wolds and the Lincolnshire Wolds, formed by the west–east running Humber Estuary.[1]

In the geological past the gap has formed part of an ice barrier due to glaciers during the ice age resulting in damming and formation of a 'Humber Lake',[2][3] and also forms a geological division.[4]

In modern times the gap has formed a natural choice for transport routes, such as the railways.[5] The Humber Bridge also crosses the Humber close to the gap.[1]

See also

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  • Humberhead Levels: very heavily silted area formed west of the gap as a result of the damming of the gap, and subsequent lake formation
  • North Ferriby and South Ferriby, villages on the two sides of the Humber named after the ferries across the gap.

References

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  1. ^ a b I. Shennan; J.E. Andrews, eds. (2000), "Holocene land-ocean interaction and environmental change around the North Sea", Geological Society Special Publication, no. 166, Geological Society, pp. 97, 146–7, Fig.1, p.146
  2. ^ J. Ehlers; P.L. Gibbard; P.D. Hughes, eds. (2011), "Quaternary Glaciations - Extent and Chronology: A Closer Look", Developments in Quaternary Science, no. 15, Elsevier, p. 88
  3. ^ P. J. Brenchley; P.F. Rawson, eds. (2007), The geology of England and Wales, 2nd edition, Geological Society, p. 454
  4. ^ Allan Straw; Keith M. Clayton (1979), Eastern and central England, Methuen & Co., p. 39
  5. ^ Maria Raimonda Usai (2005), Centre for Archaeology Report 54/2005 : Geoarchaeology in Northern England I. :The Landscape and Geography of Northern England (PDF), English Heritage, 2.1 Introduction, ISSN 1473-9224, archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016