The Valley is drained by Austwick Beck, which flows into the River Wenning, which in turn heads westwards to empty into the Irish Sea.

[5] Though Crummackdale has not seen as much human interaction with its landscape as other Yorkshire Dales, its recorded history in documents, extends as far back as 1190, when the landowner, Richard de Morevill, granted some of the fields to Furness Abbey for 300 marks.

[14] The Silurian boulders sit atop small carboniferous limestone columns (about 50 centimetres (20 in) in height), which have been progressively worn down by weathering.

[16] Geological studies have shown that a glacier moved south from Ribblesdale into Crummackdale, coercing the Silurian rocks to the upper sides of the valley.

[19] Towards the east, where a narrow gap caused by glaciation affords the space for a road from Austwick to Helwith Bridge, lies Moughton Fell.

[24] Austwick Beck drains the valley, which stretches for 4.8 miles (7.7 km) before flowing into the River Wenning near Clapham railway station.

[28] Water draining from Simon Fell sinks into a number of caves including Long Kin East Cave and Juniper Gulf at the limestone boundary, resurging from Austwick Beck head at the base of the limestone.

[39] At the western edge of the wood is a limestone pavement on which lesser meadow-rue (thalictrum minus), green spleenwort (asplenium viride), northern bedstraw (galium boreale), mountain melick (melica nutans) and bloody crane's-bill (geranium sanguineum) grow.

[40] The eastern edge of the wood is trailed by the Dales High Way, which heads north through Wharfe and exits Crummackdale westwards past Simons Fell.

[1] Some writers maintain that the hamlet of Wharfe is the only settlement in Crummackdale,[41] though Austwick and Feizor are on its southern and eastern sides respectively.