Salta Moss is a raised blanket mire which is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

('SSSI') located in the hamlet of

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

, in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was determined to be of biological interest (as opposed to geological interest, the other criteria for SSSIs) under the

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species ...

. The site, measuring , was officially designated in August 1982.

Location

The SSSI is located in the hamlet of Salta, which is in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Holme St. Cuthbert, in the

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

unitary authority area A unitary authority is a type of local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed ...

of Cumbria. The site is approximately from the coast, approximately above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, and nearby settlements include Dubmill, Edderside, Hailforth, and Mawbray. In addition to its status as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Salta Moss has some further legal protection due to this section of

Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...

coastline being a designated

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

. Known as the Solway Coast and headquartered at

Silloth Silloth, or Silloth-on-Solway, is a port town and civil parish in the Cumberland (district), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town stands on the coast of the Solway Firth, west of Carlisle. It was developed from the 1850s onwards a ...

, the AONB runs from the estuaries of the rivers Esk and Eden (near

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

) to Skinburness, and again from Beckfoot to Crosscanonby along Allonby Bay. Furthermore, the sea at Allonby Bay is a

Marine Conservation Zone A Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) is a type of marine nature reserve in United Kingdom, UK waters. They were established under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009) and are areas designated with the aim to prot ...

, granting protection to local aquatic life.

Etymology

The word Moss in this case refers to a

peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muske ...

, not the family of plants. The word comes from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''meos'' or ''mos'', and ultimately from the

proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

''musan''. The name Salta comes from the Old English ''sēalt-tir'', meaning "land of salt", or simply "salt land". This is due to the Anglo-Saxon era saltmaking industry known to have been present on this part of the Solway coast. Several local house names include the word ''Moss'', or the names of plant species which grow there.

Historical significance

In the 1980s, a

rapier A rapier () is a type of sword originally used in Spain (known as ' -) and Italy (known as '' spada da lato a striscia''). The name designates a sword with a straight, slender and sharply pointed two-edged long blade wielded in one hand. It wa ...

from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

was discovered on Salta Moss, which may have been crafted as early as 1100 BC. The sword was donated to the Tullie House Museum in Carlisle, where it is on display as of 2019.

Plant life

Several species of bog and moor plants are present on Salta Moss. These include '' Molinia caerulea'', commonly known as purple moor grass, which is native to Great Britain and often seen on boggy or marshy ground. There are also several varieties of ''

Ericaceae The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...

'', commonly known as heather, as well as

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...

. The site is known as a raised blanket mire (or blanket bog) due to its climate and the presence of

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

. There is also a small area of woodland, and the site sits atop a large deposit of glacial sand. Sand from this same deposit is quarried within a few miles of the SSSI at Overby, near New Cowper. The main species noted by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

, and given as reasons for the SSSI designation, are as follows: * ''

Angelica sylvestris ''Angelica sylvestris'' or wild angelica is a species of flowering plant, native to Europe and central Asia. An annual or short-lived perennial growing to a maximum of , it has erect purplish stems and rounded umbels of minuscule white or pale ...

'' (wild angelica) * '' Carex rostrata'' (bottle or beaked sedge) * '' Erica tetralix'' (cross-leaved heath) * '' Filipendula ulmaria'' (meadowsweet or mead wort) * '' Galium palustre'' (marsh-bedstraw) * '' Juncus acutiflorus'' (sharp-flowered rush) * ''

Juncus effusus ''Juncus effusus'' is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae, with the common names common rush or soft rush. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to ''Juncus interior''. Distribution ''J ...

'' (common or soft rush) * '' Menyanthes trifoliata'' (bog bean) * '' Molinia caerulea'' (purple moor grass) * '' Phragmites communis'' (common reed) * '' Potentilla erecta'' (tormentil or septfoil) * '' Salix pentandra'' (bay willow) * '' Sphagnum cuspidatum'' (feathery bog-moss or toothed peat moss) * ''

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...

papillosum'' (papillose bog-moss) * ''Sphagnum recurvum'' * '' Vaccinium oxycoccos'' (cranberry, or bog or swamp cranberry)

Animal life

'' Vipera berus'', commonly known as adders, are present on Salta Moss. This species is Britain's only native venomous snake, and they are known to prey on small rodents, such as

voles Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molar (tooth), molars (high-crowned with angular cusps i ...

and field mice. Adders occasionally bite people, and their bite, while painful, is usually not fatal and the species is not considered especially dangerous to humans. Melanistic adders (adders which have dark pigmentation) are also noted to be present. Parts of the site provide shelter for roe deer, and breeding grounds for warblers, and in addition many other species of wild birds are present, both migratory and nonmigratory.

Status

, the governing body of all SSSIs in England, regards parts of the site as destroyed and various other parts as under threat. This is primarily due to agricultural activity and draining of groundwater. Maintaining the site's status as an SSSI depends upon the retention of a high

water table The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...

. Natural England notes that further draining of the site would put it at increased risk.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cumbria Holme St Cuthbert