There are just a few market towns within the area—Barnard Castle, Consett, Middleton-in-Teesdale, Stanhope, Tow Law, and Wolsingham,—though some also consider the Durham Dales to extend as far east as Bishop Auckland and Crook.
There are a number of small villages in the area, which in general tend to be sparsely populated and spread out, in great contrast to much of the rest of County Durham.
The Durham Dales, like much of the Pennines, have long been exploited for their rich mineralogical resources, notably lead and ironstone.
As with much of the landscape of the Pennines, they are generally upland areas of high moorland indented by the more fertile valleys of various rivers and streams.
The rivers Wear, Tees and Derwent all rise in the Durham Dales and flow eastward towards the North Sea.