Janet's Foss is a small

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

in the vicinity of the village of

Malham Malham is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Before 20th century boundary changes, the village was part of the Settle Rural District, in the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. In the ''Domesday Book' ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. It carries Gordale Beck over a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

outcrop topped by

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertin ...

into a deep pool below. The pool was traditionally used for

sheep dip Sheep dip is a liquid formulation of insecticide and fungicide which shepherds and farmers use to protect their sheep from infestation against external parasites such as itch mite (''Psoroptes ovis''), blow-fly, ticks and lice. History Sheep ...

ping, an event which drew in local village inhabitants for the social occasion. The name ''Janet'' (sometimes ''Jennet'') is believed to refer to a fairy queen reputed to inhabit a cave at the rear of the fall. ''Foss'' is a Nordic word for waterfall, still used in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

, and is presented in a number of cases in England as 'force'. Janet's Foss was the location of the fictional Molkham Falls featured in the 2006 independent British film ''Waterfall''. Filming took place there in May 2006. Janet's Foss is occasionally used by all-weather wild swimmers.

References

External links

Village and area web siteOfficial website of the film WATERFALL
Waterfalls of North Yorkshire Craven District {{Craven-geo-stub