Review of tufa deposition and palaeohydrological conditions in the White Peak, Derbyshire UK : implications for Quaternary landscape evolution

This review considers the geological and geomorphological context of tufa barrages that occupy buried valley settings in the Wye catchment, Derbyshire. It describes the potential relationship of the tufa with locations of hypothesised river captures and inception horizon-guided groundwater flow paths. Tufa barrage development is associated with steps in the bedrock, which may be related to knick-point recession during river capture. Broad estimates of valley incision have been calculated from previously dated deposits. These support current interpretations of particularly significant effective base-level lowering during the Anglian and Devensian stages of the Quaternary and have the potential to add to the knowledge of regional uplift histories.