It covered a large northern area of the Yorkshire Dales including Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, Wensleydale and Coverdale, with the prominent Scot's Dyke and Scotch Corner along the centre.

With a total area of 1,319 km2, it was larger than seven of the English ceremonial counties (namely, in decreasing order of size, the West Midlands, Merseyside, Tyne & Wear, Rutland, the Isle of Wight, Bristol, and the City of London).

The Scandinavian settlement of this area was eastwards from the Irish Sea with names such as Gilpatrick in Middleham and Thorfinn in Bedale occurring at the time of the Domesday Book.

[6] After the Harrying of the North, the land became capital[clarification needed] of the Duchy of Brittany's Honour of Richmond (first as a barony, then an earldom and later a dukedom).

[9] The Yorkshire portion was a compact unit of 199 manors and 43 outlying properties situated near the main roads from Scotland into the Vale of York.

In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire would be reorganised into a unitary authority.

[22] In terms of television, the area is served by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees broadcasting from the Bilsdale transmitter.

[23] Radio stations for the area are:[24] The district is served by two local newspapers, North Yorkshire editions of the daily Northern Echo and the weekly Darlington & Stockton Times both published by Newsquest.