The Geography of Morton-on-Swale

The Parish boundary is formed by the River Swale on the west and River Wiske on the east and south. The northern boundary runs just south of Thrintoft. The neighbouring parishes consist of Ainderby Steeple, Thrintoft, ScrutonLeemingGatenbyMaunbyNewby Wiske and Warlaby. The village lies on the A684 road between Northallerton and Bedale. The villages of Ainderby Steeple and Thrintoft are within a mile of the village. The highest point in the village is 131 feet (40 m) at the Play Park.

In September 2000, the Environment Agency installed a river level monitoring station in the village. It measures the water levels in the River Swale. The range of river levels is between 0.13 metres (0.43 ft) and 5.8 metres (19 ft). The highest recorded level at this point on the river was 6.47 metres (21.2 ft) on 6 September 2008.

The Wensleydale Railway Association has extended its line, that previously ran from Redmire to Leeming Bar, to run just to the north of the village. This section opened to traffic briefly between 2014 and 2016, with a temporary station at Northallerton West and plans to go as far as the East Coast Main Line. This meant the construction of two level crossings in the village. The station, along with that at Scruton, was closed in August 2016 following a collision between a train and a car at a level crossing near Yafforth. It is hoped to re-open the line and station at a future date once work to upgrade the level crossing equipment is complete.