The lower promontory of Threlkeld Knotts north of Clough Head is scarred and flanked by 'rock slope failure' fractures and landslips, and views from the A66 and Blencathra could suggest that the whole mass of the Knotts has descended from the concavity in the north face, which is not a true glacial cirque (Lakeland combe), but this remains debatable . Rock slope failure also patterns White Pike with antiscarps (uphill-facing scarplets), which could formerly have extended across the Clough Head cavity.