[2] Stalagmite deposits inside the rising, dated to at least 27 ka, imply that the cave was dry during the Devensian ice age, and so must have been formed before then.
[3] The cave systems usually carry away any water before it reaches the fall; however, Malham Cove temporarily became a waterfall for what is believed to be the first time since 1824 on 6 December 2015, after heavy rainfall from Storm Desmond.
[4][5] [6] The priest and noted antiquary Thomas West described the cove in 1779: "This beautiful rock is like the age-tinted wall of a prodigious castle; the stone is very white, and from the ledges hang various shrubs and vegetables, which with the tints given it by the bog water.
"[7] On the west side of the 80-metre (260 foot) high cliff face are about 400 irregular stone steps: these form part of the route of the Pennine Way and lead to an uneven limestone pavement at the top.
[12] The limestone pavement and general location of Malham featured in an episode of The Trip starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon which aired on BBC2 on 29 November 2010.