Valleys

The principal radial valleys are (clockwise from the south) those of Dunnerdale, Eskdale, Wasdale, Ennerdale, Lorton Vale and the Buttermere valley, the Derwent valley and Borrowdale, the valleys containing Ullswater and Haweswater, Longsleddale, the Kentmere valley and those radiating from the head of Windermere including Great Langdale. The valleys serve to break the mountains up into separate blocks which have been described by various authors in different ways. The most frequently encountered approach is that made popular by Alfred Wainwright who published seven separate area guides to the Lakeland Fells;

Hills (Fells)

The four highest mountains in the Lake District each exceed 3000ft (914m). These are;

• Scafell Pike, 978 m (3,210 ft),

• Scafell, 965 m (3,162 ft),

• Helvellyn, 951 m (3,118 ft) and

• Skiddaw, 931 m (3,054 ft).

There are numerous mountains over 2500ft (762m) - various lists of Lake District peaks may be found at list of fells in the Lake District and the list of hills in the Lake District.

The impressive bulk of the Scafellmassif, the highest ground in England, seen over Wasdale.

The North Western Fells lie between Borrowdale and Bassenthwaite Lake to the east and Buttermere and Lorton Vale to the west. Their southernmost point is at Honister Pass. This area includes the Derwent Fells above the Newlands Valley and hills to the north amongst which are Dale Head, Robinson. To the north stand Grasmoor - highest in the range at 852m (2795ft), Grisedale Pike and the hills around the valley of Coledale, and in the far north-west is Thornthwaite Forest and Lord's Seat. The fells in this area are rounded Skiddaw Slate, with few tarns and relatively few rock faces.

Lakes

Only one of the lakes in the Lake District is called by that name, Bassenthwaite Lake. All the others such as Windermere,  Coniston Water,  Ullswater and Buttermere are meres, tarns and waters, with mere being the least common and water being the most common. The major lakes and reservoirs in the National Park are Bassenthwaite Lake, Brotherswater, Buttermere, Coniston Water, Crummock Water, Derwent Water, Devoke Water and other.

Geology

The Lake District's geology is very complex but well-studied. A granite batholith beneath the area is responsible for this upland massif, its relatively low density causing the area to be 'buoyed up'. The granite can be seen at the surface as the Ennerdale, Skiddaw, Carrock Fell, Eskdale and Shap granites.

Broadly speaking the area can be divided into three bands, the divisions between which run southwest to northeast. Generally speaking the rocks become younger from northwest to southeast. The northwestern band is composed of early to mid Ordovician sedimentary rocks – largely mudstones and siltstones of marine origin. Together they comprise the Skiddaw Group and include the rocks traditionally known as the Skiddaw Slates. Their friability generally leads to mountains with relatively smooth slopes such as Skiddaw itself.

The central band is a mix of volcanic and sedimentary rocks of mid to late Ordovician age comprising the lavas and tuffs of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, erupted as the former Iapetus ocean was subducted beneath what is now the Scottish border during the Caledonian orogeny. These rocks give rise to the craggy landscapes typical of the central fells.

The southeastern band comprises the mudstones and wackes of the Windermere Supergroup and which includes (successively) the rocks of the Dent, Stockdale, Tranearth, Coniston and Kendal Groups. These are generally a little less resistant to erosion than the rocks sequence to the north and underlie much of the lower landscapes around Coniston and Windermere.

Later intrusions have formed individual outcrops of igneous rock in each of these groups. Around the edges of these Ordovician and Silurian rocks on the northern, eastern and southern fringes of the area is a semi-continuous outcrop of Carboniferous Limestone seen most spectacularly at places like Whitbarrow Scar and Scout Scar.