It has an elevation of 978 metres (3,209 ft) above sea level, making it the highest and the most prominent mountain in England.

The name Scawfell Pikes was adopted "by common consent" according to Jonathan Otley, shortly before the publication of the 4th edition of his guidebook in 1830.

[11] Up to this point, England's highest mountain (its status as such was not known until the early 1800s) did not have a name of its own; it was labelled Sca-Fell Higher Top by the Ordnance Survey in their initial work in Cumbria in the first decade of the 19th century.

[12] The newly developed name reported by Otley first appeared on a published Ordnance Survey map in 1865.

Scafell Pike is one of a horseshoe of high fells, open to the south, surrounding the head of Eskdale, Cumbria.

[17] Broad Crag Col is the source of Little Narrowcove Beck in the east and of Piers Gill in the west.

It is dangerous in rain and treacherous in winter, as when it freezes over it creates an icy patch, with lethal exposure should you slip.

The summit was donated to the National Trust in 1919 by Lord Leconfield "in perpetual memory of the men of the Lake District who fell for God and King, for freedom peace and right in the Great War 1914–1918 ...".

[21] There is a better-known war memorial on Great Gable, commemorating the members of the Fell & Rock Climbing Club.

Scafell Pike consists of igneous rock, including breccia, andesite and rhyolite, as well as geothermal tufa,[24] dating from the Ordovician; it is geologically part of the Borrowdale Volcanics and along with the other peaks of the Scafells, forms part of an extinct volcano which was active around 400-450 million years ago.

Paths connect the summit with Lingmell Col to the northwest, Mickledore to the southwest, and Esk Hause to the northeast, and these in turn connect with numerous other paths, giving access to walkers from many directions including Wasdale Head to the west, Seathwaite to the north, Langdale to the east, and Eskdale to the southwest.

Given the need for clear weather to achieve these very long-range observations (111 miles (179 km) to Slieve Donard), the Ordnance surveyors spent much of the summer camped on the respective mountain tops.

[12][29][30] (Scroll left or right) As the highest ground in England, Scafell Pike has a very extensive view, ranging from the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland to Snowdonia in Wales.