DERWENT, RIVER

river in North Yorkshire, England, that rises on Fylingdales Moor only 6 miles (10 km) inland from the North Sea but flows 57 miles (92 km) through alternating gorges and vales to its junction with the River Ouse. This peculiar course results from the blockage of its former path by an ice sheet. Glacial overflow channels were cut through the tabular hills around Hackness at Langdale and Forge Valley and the Hawardian Hills near Malton. In contrast, the course through the vales of Pickering and York over thick glacial outwash and lacustrine deposits is strikingly flat. The name was recorded by Bede in the 8th century as Deruuentionis fluvii, from the Celtic river where oak trees grow abundantly.