Facility
Trout Beck

The Trout Beck is a headwater stream of the Tees which drains Great Dun Fell, Hard Hill and Knock Fell in the North Pennines. The ECN sampling point (Grid Ref NY758335) is at 535m altitude and the catchment above this covers 1146 ha, rising to 848m altitude. The geology is alternating strata of Carboniferous limestones, sandstone and shales. Blanket peat covers 90% of the catchment with skeletal soils towards the fell tops and small areas of limestone soils and alluvial soils. Vegetation is dominated by ling heather (Calluna vulgaris), cotton grass (Eriophorum spp) and Sphagnum moss. The catchment lies in Moor House National Nature Reserve which is owned by English Nature. Discharge is measured at a Compound Crump Gauging Station operated by the Environment Agency. The pH of Trout Beck has wide fluctuations associated with the discharge. The site has a long history of ecological research.