 There are a number of small villages in the area, which in general tend to be sparsely populated and spread out, in great contrast to much of the rest of County Durham.Like much of the North Pennines, the Durham Dales form an anticline, with carboniferous limestone exposed at the surface.The Durham Dales, like much of the Pennines, have long been exploited for their rich mineralogical resources, notably lead and ironstone.