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Snowdonia

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

   Tryfan's north ridge (seen on the left in this picture) makes an
   enjoyable scramble in Snowdonia. Tryfan is 915 metres (3002 feet) high,
   the eleventh highest mountain in Wales.
   Enlarge
   Tryfan's north ridge (seen on the left in this picture) makes an
   enjoyable scramble in Snowdonia. Tryfan is 915  metres (3002  feet)
   high, the eleventh highest mountain in Wales.

   Snowdonia ( Welsh: Eryri) is a region of north Wales and a National
   Park, of 838 square miles (2170 square kilometres) in area. It was the
   first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.

Name and extent

   The English name for the area derives from Snowdon, which is the
   highest mountain in Wales at 1085  metres (3560  feet). In Welsh, the
   area is named Eryri. It is a common assumption that this is derived
   from eryr ("eagle"), but in fact it means quite simply Highlands, as
   leading Welsh scholar Sir Ifor Williams proved.

   Today the word "Snowdonia" is largely synonymous with the Snowdonia
   National Park, although prior to the designation of the boundaries of
   the National Park, the term "Snowdonia" was generally used to refer to
   a smaller area, namely the more mountainous and northern areas closer
   to Snowdon itself. This is apparent in books published prior to 1951
   such as "Wild Wales" by George Borrow (published by Collins, London in
   1862) and "The Mountains of Snowdonia" by H.Carr & G.Lister (published
   by Lockwood, London in 1925). F.J. North, as editor of the book
   "Snowdonia" (published by Collins, London in 1949) states "When the
   Committee delineated provisional boundaries, they included areas some
   distance beyond Snowdonia proper."

Snowdonia National Park

   Snowdonia National Park ( Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) was
   established in 1951 as the third national park in England and Wales. It
   covers 2,142 km² (840 square miles), and has a 60km coastline.

   The Park is governed by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, which is
   made up of local government and Welsh national representatives. Unlike
   national parks in other countries, Snowdonia (and other such parks in
   England and Wales) are made up of both public and private lands under
   central planning authority. The makeup of land ownership at Snowdonia
   is as follows:
       ownership type      share (%)
   Private                 69.9
   Forestry Commission     15.8
   National Trust          8.9
   CCW                     1.7
   National Park Authority 1.2
   Water Companies         0.9
   Other                   1.6

   More than 26,000 people live within the Park, of whom about 62% speak
   Welsh . The Park attracts over 6 million visitors annually, split
   fairly equally between day vistors and paying visitors , making it the
   third most visited national park in England and Wales. Whilst most of
   the land is either open or mountainous land, there is a significant
   amount of agricultural activity within the Park.

   Since the local government re-organisation of 1998, the Park lies
   partly in the County of Gwynedd, and partly in the County Borough of
   Conwy. It is governed by the 18 member Snowdonia National Park
   Authority, 9 of whose members are appointed by Gwynedd, 3 by Conwy, and
   the remaining 6 by the National Assembly for Wales.

   Unusually, Snowdonia National Park has a hole in the middle, around the
   town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, a slate quarrying centre. This was
   deliberately excluded from the park when it was set up in order to
   allow the development of new light industry to replace the decimated
   slate industry.

Mountain ranges in Snowdonia

   Snowdonia may be divided into four areas. The northernmost area is the
   most popular with tourists, and includes (west to east): Moel Hebog,
   Mynydd Mawr and the Nantlle Ridge; the Snowdon massif; the Glyderau,
   and the Carneddau. These last three groups are the highest mountains in
   Wales, and include all Wales' 3000-foot mountains.

   The second area includes peaks such as Moel Siabod, Cnicht the Moelwyn,
   and the mountains around Blaenau Ffestiniog (a slate-quarrying town
   excluded from the National Park in order to facilitate the development
   of light industry there).

   The third area includes the Rhinogydd in the west as well as the Arenig
   and the Migneint (this last being an area of bog, not a mountain). This
   area is not so popular with tourists, due to its remoteness.

   The southernmost area includes Cadair Idris, the Tarren range, and the
   Aran group, including Aran Fawddwy, the highest mountain in the United
   Kingdom south of Snowdon.

Mountain walking in Snowdonia

   Many of the hikers in the area concentrate on Snowdon itself. It is
   widely regarded as a fine mountain, but it can become quite crowded,
   particularly with the tourist railway running to the summit. Some
   hikers find some of the other high mountains slightly disappointing,
   with their flat boulder-strewn summits. However, there are some
   spectacular walks in Snowdonia on the lower mountains, and they tend to
   be relatively unfrequented.
   Ex-quarry near Llanberis in the foothills of the Glyderau
   Enlarge
   Ex-quarry near Llanberis in the foothills of the Glyderau

   Among hikers' favourites are Y Garn (east of Llanberis) along the ridge
   to Elidir Fawr; Mynydd Tal-y-Mignedd (west of Snowdon) along the
   Nantlle Ridge to Mynydd Drws-y-Coed; Moelwyn Mawr (west of Blaenau
   Ffestiniog); and Pen Llithrig y Wrach north of Capel Curig. Further
   south are Y Llethr in the Rhinogydd, and Cadair Idris near Dolgellau.
   Rain coming in over Llyn Cowlyd north of Capel Curig.
   Enlarge
   Rain coming in over Llyn Cowlyd north of Capel Curig.

   The Park has 2,381km of public footpaths, 264km of public bridleways,
   and 74km of other Public Rights of Way. A large part of the Park is
   also covered by Right to Roam laws.

Nature, landscape and the environment

   The Park's entire coastline is a Special Area of Conservation, which
   runs from the Llyn Peninsula down the Mid Wales coast, the latter
   containing valuable sand dune systems.

   The Park's natural forests are of the mixed deciduous type, the
   commonest tree being the oak. Birch, ash, mountain-ash and hazel are
   also common. The Park also contains some large (planted)
   coniferousforested areas such as Gwydir Forest near Betws-y-coed,
   although some areas, once harvested, are now increasingly being allowed
   to regrow naturally.
   Gwydir Forest lies in an elevated position, and offers views towards
   the Glyderau and the Carneddau ranges.
   Enlarge
   Gwydir Forest lies in an elevated position, and offers views towards
   the Glyderau and the Carneddau ranges.

   Northern Snowdonia is the only place in Britain where the Snowdon Lily,
   an arctic alpine plant, and the rainbow-coloured Snowdon Beetle are
   found.

   A large proportion of the Park is today under designation (or under
   consideration for designation) as Sites of Scientific Interest,
   National Nature Reserves, Special Areas of Conservation, Special
   Protection Areas, Biosphere and Ramsar sites.

   One of the major problems facing the Park in recent years has been the
   growth of Rhododendron ponticum. This fast growing alien species has a
   tendency to take over and stifle native species from growing. It can
   form massive towering growths and has a companion fungus that grows on
   its roots producing toxins that are poisonous to any local flora and
   fauna for a 7 year period after the Rhododendron infestations have been
   eradicated. As a result there are a number of desolate landscapes.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowdonia"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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