The Peak District was overrun by ice during at least one of the ice ages of the last 2 million years (probably the Anglian glaciation of around 450,000 years ago) as evidenced by the patches of glacial till or boulder clay that can be found across the area.
Osrednji in južni del Peak Districta, kjer se nahaja apnenec pri ali blizu površja, je poznan kot White Peak v nasprotju z Dark Peak, za katerega je značilen peščenjak (mlinski kamen) na površju in je večji del močvirnat.