Dentdale is a dale or valley in the north-west of the Yorkshire Dales National Park in Cumbria, England. It is the valley of the River Dee, but takes its name from the village of Dent. The dale runs east to west, starting at Dent Head, which is the location of a railway viaduct on the Settle-Carlisle Line.
Dentdale is one of the few Yorkshire Dales that drain westwards to the Irish Sea.
The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (the Dee in Dentdale and the Twiss in Kingsdale being notable others).
The River Dee is a river running through the extreme south east of Cumbria, a part of the Craven region traditionally part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Its name possibly derives from Brythonic deva meaning goddess, or from Dent or Dentdale, through which the river flows.
The river rises above Dent Head Farm (on the Dales Way), formed from several smaller streams emanating from Blea Moor Moss, the River Dee makes its way northward past Stone House, where it is joined by Arten Gill, to Cowgill, where it turns left into Dentdale. In Dentdale, it picks up the waters of Deepdale Beck (travelling north from Whernside) before passing Dent and Gawthrop.