The Yorkshire Dales (also known as the "Dales") is the name given to an upland area, mostly in Yorkshire, in Northern England. Most of the area falls within the Yorkshire Dales District National Park, created in 1954. The "Dales" is one of the twelve National parks of England and Wales. The area is so called because it is a collection of river valleys ("dale" comes from a Danish word for valley), and the hills in between them. The area is mainly in the historic county of Yorkshire, but today is partly in three modern counties : North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and Cumbria.