The geologic structure is basically a dome, with hard, pre-Carboniferous rocks forming most of the principal summits, such as Scafell Pike (3,210 feet 【978 metres】), Sca Fell (3,162 feet), and Helvellyn (3,118 feet). To the north softer Ordovician rocks give more rounded hills, such as Skiddaw (3,054 feet) and Saddleback (2,847 feet). In the south lower hills of Silurian slates and grits surround the lakes Windermere, Esthwaite Water, and Coniston Water. This structure has been influenced by glacial action that deepened existing valleys, both scooping out the rock basins that now contain the lakes and also, by truncating former tributary valleys, creating a number of “hanging valleys” with attractive waterfalls.

The area was long isolated from the south and east by moorlands, peat bogs, lakes, and forests. Two Roman roads were built across the region, and later Norse invasions resulted in a period of forest clearance. The Cistercian abbeys of Furness and Byland, exploiting the area for wool production, continued the process of deforestation, which was accelerated by iron ore smelting and later by the extraction of lead and copper. These activities became uneconomic after the 1870s, and labour was diverted into slate and building stone quarries. The state Forestry Commission has covered large areas with conifers but has agreed to leave the central fell (upland) area in its deforested state with fragmentary deciduous woodland.

The Lake District became a national park in 1951, and the increased social mobility of the population of the industrial regions of northern England has stimulated the tourist industry. The increased demand for water by industrial northwestern England has resulted in the use of Thirlmere Lake as a reservoir, precluding its use for recreation. Traditional forms of extensive agriculture (cattle and sheep rearing) have been intensified and include the production of milk and eggs. The Lake District was the home of William Wordsworth, who was born at Cockermouth and is buried beside his sister and his wife in Grasmere churchyard. Since the early 19th century the region has had many other well-known literary visitors and residents.