Editing Ripon (section)

===Topography===
[[File:River Skell - Harrogate Road - geograph.org.uk - 1246109.jpg|thumb|[[River Skell]]]]

Ripon lies at the confluence of two rivers, the [[River Laver|Laver]] and the [[River Skell|Skell]], which meet in the west of the city.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fitton |first1=S.&nbsp;L. |last2=Moncaster |first2=A. |last3=Guthrie |first3=P. |title=Investigating the social value of the Ripon rivers flood alleviation scheme |journal=Journal of Flood Risk Management |date=December 2016 |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=370–378 |doi=10.1111/jfr3.12176 |url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/248444 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2016JFRM....9..370F |access-date=10 September 2020 |archive-date=24 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024072720/https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/248444 |url-status=live }}</ref> As they flow through the city, the Skell feeds water into the basin of [[Ripon Canal]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Bob |title=Following the Ure |url=https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/14640930.following-the-ure/ |access-date=3 February 2020 |work=York Press |date=25 July 2016 |archive-date=3 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203185100/https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/14640930.following-the-ure/ |url-status=live }}</ref> East of the city, the Skell meets the [[River Ure]], and both the Ure and canal head south-eastwards towards [[Boroughbridge]].<ref>{{cite web |title=75 Ure Corridor Recreation Area – Ripon to Newby Reach |url=https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/downloads/file/1183/75_ure_corridor_recreation_area_-_ripon_to_newby_reach |publisher=Harrogate Borough Council |access-date=3 February 2020 |page=1 |format=PDF |date=February 2004 |archive-date=3 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203185611/https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/downloads/file/1183/75_ure_corridor_recreation_area_-_ripon_to_newby_reach |url-status=live }}</ref> The Ure was the traditional boundary between the old [[West Riding of Yorkshire|West]] and [[North Riding of Yorkshire|North Ridings]] of Yorkshire.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jones-Barker |first1=William Gideon Michael |title=The Three Days of Wensleydale: The Valley of the Yore |date=1854 |publisher=Dolma |location=London |page=285|oclc=02590543}}</ref>

As the city is at the meeting point of three rivers, it has flooded often in the 20th and 21st centuries; notable floods have occurred in 1982, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2007.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dooks |first1=Brian |title=Flood-hit city wins £11m for defences |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/latest-news/flood-hit-city-wins-163-11m-for-defences-1-2593105 |access-date=3 February 2020 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=9 December 2005 |url-access=limited |archive-date=3 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203184929/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/latest-news/flood-hit-city-wins-163-11m-for-defences-1-2593105 |url-status=live }}</ref> This prompted spending over £14&nbsp;million on the building of flood defences for the city and a storage area upstream of the city which can hold {{convert|1,500,000|m3|order=flip}} of water.<ref>{{cite news |title=Flood defence scheme completed |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-19988014 |access-date=3 February 2020 |publisher=BBC News |date=18 October 2012 |archive-date=3 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203184823/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-19988014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Much of the geology of the district is magnesian limestone, part of the Permian rocks which extend southwards from [[Darlington]] to [[Wetherby]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Conservation area – Ripon {{!}} Harrogate Borough Council |url=https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/downloads/file/1770/conservation_area_-_ripon |website=www.harrogate.gov.uk |access-date=3 February 2020 |page=5 |format=PDF |date=June 2009 |archive-date=3 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203185925/https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/downloads/file/1770/conservation_area_-_ripon |url-status=live }}</ref> The area has pockets of gypsum underlying the surface soils. Water has dissolved the gypsum, leaving the area prone to sinkholes, especially north of the city and on the northern side of the Ure.<ref>{{cite web |title=77 North of Ripon Farmland {{!}} Harrogate Borough Council |url=https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/downloads/file/1186/77_north_of_ripon_farmland |website=www.harrogate.gov.uk |access-date=3 February 2020 |page=1 |format=PDF |date=February 2004 |archive-date=3 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203185658/https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/downloads/file/1186/77_north_of_ripon_farmland |url-status=live }}</ref>