Slieve Mish Mountains | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Peak | Baurtregaum [1] [2] |
Elevation | 851 m (2,792 ft) [1] [2] |
Coordinates | 52°12′N9°46′W / 52.200°N 9.767°W |
Dimensions | |
Length | 19 km (12 mi)East–West |
Width | 6 km (3.7 mi) |
Area | 97.9 [3] km2 (37.8 sq mi) |
Naming | |
Native name | Sliabh Mis |
English translation | [possibly] mountains of Mis |
Geography | |
Location | County Kerry |
Country | Ireland |
Provinces of Ireland | Munster |
Topo map | OSI Discovery 71 |
Geology | |
Age of rock | Ordovician to Late Carboniferous [4] |
Type of rock | Purple cross-bedded sandstone [2] |
Slieve Mish Mountains (Irish : Sliabh Mis, meaning '[possibly] mountains of Mis'), [5] is a predominantly sandstone mountain range at the eastern end of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. Stretching 19 kilometres (12 miles), from the first major peak of Barnanageehy outside of Tralee in the east, to Cnoc na Stuaice in near Central Dingle in the west, the range has over 17 material peaks (e.g. height above 100 m), with the core of the mountain range based around the massif of its highest peak, Baurtregaum, and its deep glacial valleys of Derrymore Glen and Curraheen Glen.
The Irish language term "Sliabh" denotes a mountain, however, the precise meaning of "Mis" has not been validated. Irish academic Paul Tempan notes that it could be related to Slemish mountain in County Antrim, where the term "Mis" is from a female name, and thus translates as "the mountains of Mis". [5]
Like many of the mountain ranges in County Kerry, such as the MacGillycuddy Reeks in the Iveragh Peninsula, the Slieve Mish Mountains are composed predominantly of Devonian period Old Red Sandstone, with a band of Ordovician period metasediments on the western slopes of the range. [3] [1]
The rocks of the Slieve Mish Mountains and the Brandon Group in the Dingle Peninsula are Ordovician to Late Carboniferous in age, 485 to 330 millions years ago (Ma). [4]
At the time Ireland was in a hot equatorial setting. [6] During a 60 million year period, Ireland was the site of a major basin, known as the Munster basin, and Cork and Kerry were effectively a large alluvial floodplain. [6]
The rocks in the Dinge Peninsula have an earlier, Silurian, shallow marine facies and a later, Devonian, continental red-bed facies. The transition between the two is unconformable or faulted. The island of Inishnabro just off the peninsula is an exception in the area in that the contact between the two facies is conformable. [4]
The rocks are purple–red due to the oxidation of iron-rich sediments which accumulated in semi-arid climate. [4] In places they are green from chlorination. These colours are still visible today. [6] There are virtually no fossils in Old Red Sandstone. [6] The composition of Old Red Sandstone is variable. Largely fluvial sandstones and conglomerates dominate [4] and there are mudstones, siltstones. Boulders containing quartz pebbles are visible throughout the range. [6]
The Palaeozoic rocks of the Dinge Peninsula have been affected by deformations caused by three orogenies (mountain building events) the Early Caledonian (c. 470 Ma) Acadian (c. 400 Ma) and Variscan (c. 318–297 Ma) orogenies. The Variscan orogeny uplifted and deformed the Devonian and Early Carboniferous rocks, tightened the folds of the Caledonian and Acadian orogenies and reactivated many of the older major faults. Very large NE-SE trending (in the west) and E-W trending (in the east) open upright folds were created in the Dinge Peninsula. The Slieve Mish Anticline in the east provides evidence of this. The erosional products of this were deposited in the Munster Basin. [4]
The Slieve Mish range was also subject to significant glaciation with corries (e.g. the upper lakes of the Derrymore Glen), U-shaped valleys (e.g. the Derrymore Glen and the Curraheen Glen), however the range does not have the sharp rocky arêtes and ridges of the MacGillycuddy Reeks range. [6]
Overlooking Tralee Bay on the northern side and Dingle Bay on the south, the range extends for 19 kilometres from just outside Tralee in the east to the centre of the Dingle Peninsula in the west. The range is often described as the "backbone" of the Dingle Peninsula because of distribution of most of its major peaks along narrow south-west to north-east "spine" that extends to 6 kilometres at its widest part. [7] [8]
The core of the range is the massif of its highest point Baurtregaum 851 metres (2,792 ft), and the main peaks of the range sit and Baurtregaum's high grassy ridge from Baurtregaum Far NW Top 603 metres (1,978 ft)in the east, to Caherconree 835 metres (2,740 ft), and Gearhane 792 metres (2,598 ft), in the west.[ citation needed ]
Bautregaum has two major glacial U-shaped valleys, the long 4.5-kilometre easterly Curraheen Glen (with the Curraheen River), and the shorter but deeper northerly Derrymore Glen (Derrymore River), with its three corrie lakes. [7] [8]
After descending to the north–south mountain pass of Bóthar na gCloch ("road of the stones") to the west, the spine of the range rises up again at Knockbrack459 metres (1,506 ft) and Lack Mountain465 metres (1,526 ft), to run in a further south-westerly direction to finish at Cnoc na Stuaice483 metres (1,585 ft). [7] [8]
The following is a download from the MountainViews Online Database , who list 17 identifiable Slieve Mish peaks with an elevation, or height, above 100 metres
Height Rank | Prom. Rank | Name | Irish Name (if different) | Translation | Height (m) | Prom. (m) | Height (ft) | Prom. (ft) | Topo Map | OSI Grid Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Baurtregaum | Barr Trí gCom | Top of Three Hollows [lower-alpha 1] | 851 | 643 | 2,792 | 2,110 | 71 | Q749076 |
2 | 4 | Caherconree | Cathair Conraoi | Cú Roí's Stone Fort [lower-alpha 2] | 835 | 129 | 2,740 | 423 | 71 | Q733073 |
3 | 17 | Baurtregaum NE Top | — | — | 819 | 14 | 2,687 | 46 | 71 | Q755081 |
4 | 16 | Gearhane | An Géarán | The Fang [lower-alpha 3] | 792 | 17 | 2,598 | 56 | 71 | Q733082 |
5 | 15 | Baurtregaum NW Top | — | — | 723 | 18 | 2,372 | 59 | 71 | Q747084 |
6 | 12 | Baurtregaum Far NE Top | — | — | 603 | 28 | 1,978 | 92 | 71 | Q768090 |
7 | 11 | Castle Hill [lower-alpha 4] | — | — | 600 | 35 | 1,969 | 115 | 71 | Q756063 |
8 | 6 | Caherbla | Cathair Bhláth | Stone Fort of Flowers [lower-alpha 5] | 586 | 91 | 1,923 | 299 | 71 | Q724052 |
9 | 2 | Moanlaur | Móin Láir | Middle Bog | 566 | 289 | 1,857 | 948 | 71 | Q690045 |
10 | 14 | Knockmore | An Cnoc Mór | The Big Hill | 565 | 27 | 1,854 | 89 | 71 | Q684042 |
11 | 7 | Barnanageehy | Bearna na Gaoithe | Gap of the wind [lower-alpha 6] | 561 | 56 | 1,841 | 184 | 71 | Q800082 |
12 | 8 | Beenduff | An Bhinn Dubh | The Black Peak | 515 | 40 | 1,690 | 131 | 71 | Q677037 |
13 | 13 | Cnoc na Stuaice [lower-alpha 7] | Cnoc na Stuaice | Hill of the Peak | 483 | 28 | 1,585 | 92 | 71 | Q666029 |
14 | 9 | Lack Mountain | Sliabh na Lice | Mountain of the Flagstone | 465 | 40 | 1,526 | 131 | 71 | Q706045 |
15 | 10 | Knockbrack | An Cnoc Breac | The Speckled Hill | 459 | 36 | 1,506 | 118 | 71 | Q702051 |
16 | 5 | Corrin | Carraig Tomáisín | Little Thomas's Rock | 332 | 97 | 1,089 | 318 | 71 | Q685075 |
17 | 3 | Knockafeehane | Binn an Phréacháin | Peak of the Crows | 301 | 130 | 988 | 427 | 71 | Q616014 |
MacGillycuddy's Reeks is a sandstone and siltstone mountain range in the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. Stretching 19 kilometres, from the Gap of Dunloe in the east, to Glencar in the west, the Reeks is Ireland's highest mountain range, and includes most of the highest peaks and sharpest ridges in Ireland, and the only peaks on the island over 1,000 metres in height.
The Dingle Peninsula is the northernmost of the major peninsulas in County Kerry. It ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point of Ireland and arguably Europe.
Carrauntoohil, Carrauntoohill or Carrantuohill is the highest mountain in Ireland at 1,038.6 metres. It is on the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, close to the centre of Ireland's highest mountain range, MacGillycuddy's Reeks. Carrauntoohil is composed mainly of sandstone, whose glaciation produced distinctive features on the mountain such as the Eagle's Nest corrie and some deep gullies and sharp arêtes in its east and northeastern faces that are popular with rock and winter climbers.
In these lists of mountains in Ireland, those within Northern Ireland, or on the Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border, are marked with an asterisk, while the rest are within the Republic of Ireland. Where mountains are ranked by height, the definition of the topographical prominence used to classify the mountain, is noted. In British definitions, a height of 600 metres (1,969 ft) is required for a mountain, whereas in Ireland, a lower threshold of 500 metres (1,640 ft) is sometimes advocated.
Mount Brandon or Brandon, at 952 metres (3,123 ft), is one of the ten highest peaks in Ireland, being the 8th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, and the 9th–highest on the Vandeleur-Lynam list. Brandon is the highest Irish mountain outside the MacGillycuddy's Reeks range and has the greatest prominence of any Irish peak except Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest mountain.
The Mountains of the Central Dingle Peninsula are the generic name given to the mountains that lie on the Dingle Peninsula between the Brandon Group of mountains in the west, and the Slieve Mish Mountains at the eastern end of the peninsula.
Purple Mountain at 832 metres (2,730 ft) high, is the 21st–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 28th–highest according to the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. It is located in County Kerry, and is the highest point of the Purple Mountain Group.
Cnoc na Péiste, anglicised Knocknapeasta, at 988 metres (3,241 ft), is the fourth-highest peak in Ireland, on the Arderin and Vandeleur-Lynam lists. Cnoc na Péiste is part of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks range in County Kerry. It is one of only two 3,000 ft peaks in the Reeks with a prominence above the Marilyn threshold of 150 metres, and is the highest summit of the Eastern Reeks. In 1943, a USAAF plane crashed into the mountain, killing all five crew, and parts of the wreckage can still be seen in Lough Cummeenapeasta.
Derrymore is a rural district of County Kerry in south-west Ireland. It lies between the Slieve Mish mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, some 11 km (7 mi) west of Tralee on the Dingle peninsula. A sandy beach, known as Derrymore Strand, is quite popular with locals and tourists during the summer months. Derrymore Island is a nature reserve supporting many rare plant communities and is an important high-tide roosting area for shore birds.
Baurtregaum at 851 metres (2,792 ft), is the 13th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 18th–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. Baurtregaum is situated at the centre of the massif of the Slieve Mish Mountains on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. It is the tallest mountain of the Slieve Mish range, with a number of major subsidiary summits.
Bentee or Benatee is a hill overlooking the town of Cahersiveen in County Kerry, Ireland.
Caherconree at 835 metres (2,740 ft), is the 20th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 27th–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. Caherconree is the 2nd-highest mountain in the Slieve Mish Mountains in the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland, and one of its southerly spurs is the site of an ancient stone promontory fort, which is a protected National Monument.
The Dingle Way is a long-distance trail around the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. It is a 162-kilometre (101-mile) long circular route that begins and ends in Tralee and is typically completed in eight days. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council and is managed by the Dingle Way Committee and Kerry County Council.
Camp is a village near the Slieve Mish Mountains in County Kerry, Ireland, on the Dingle Peninsula. It is close to the Dingle Way and is a destination for tourists.
The Big Gun, at 939 metres (3,081 ft) high, is the ninth-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, or the tenth-highest according to the Vandeleur-Lynam list. It is part of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks in County Kerry, and is also known as Lackagarrin or Foilnabreachaun.
Maolán Buí, also known by the name Bearna Rua, at 973 metres (3,192 ft) high, is the fifth-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, or the sixth-highest peak in Ireland according to the Vandeleur-Lynam list. Maolán Buí is also known for its narrow north-west spur, called The Bone. It is part of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks in Kerry.
The Bones, at 957 metres (3,140 ft) high, is the seventh-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, or the eighth-highest according to the Vandeleur-Lynam list. It is part of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks in County Kerry, and is a small sharp peak on the dramatic Beenkeragh Ridge, and is sometimes mistaken with The Bone, the north-east spur of Maolán Buí, which descends into the Hag's Glen.
Brassel Mountain at 575 metres (1,886 ft), is the 261-st highest peak in Ireland, on the Arderin scale. It is part of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks range in County Kerry. Brassel Mountain is the south-east spur of the larger neighbouring peaks, Cnoc an Chuillinn 958 metres (3,143 ft), and Cnoc an Chuillinn East Top 926 metres (3,038 ft). Because of its positioning away from the main ridge of the Reeks, and away from the glens used to access the Reeks, Brassel is less frequently climbed, but can be used as an exit, or entry point to the main ridge.
The Munster Basin is a late Middle to Upper Devonian age extensional (rift) sedimentary basin in the south-west of Ireland. The basin fill comprises fluvial Old Red Sandstone (ORS) magnafacies with minor silicic volcanic and mafic sub-volcanic centres. The depocentre of the basin is located between the MacGillycuddy's Reeks and the Kenmare River on the Iveragh peninsula where the succession is at least ca. 6 km thick. The non-marine ORS is conformably succeeded by latest Devonian coastal plain and shallow marine clastic deposits, followed by shallow to deeper marine Carboniferous sandstones, mudstones and limestones of the South Munster Basin. During the Late Palaeozoic Variscan orogeny the deposits in the basin were subjected to compressional deformation that resulted in pressure solution cleavage formation, buckle folding and contractional faulting under very low-grade metamorphic conditions.
Cnoc na Toinne, at 845 metres (2,772 ft), is the 17th-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, and the 23rd-highest peak in Ireland on the Vandeleur-Lynam list. It is part of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks range in County Kerry. Cnoc na Toinne lies between the Coomloughra Reeks and the Eastern Reeks, and is just above the col of the Devil's Ladder, a popular route for climbing Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest mountain.