Slieve Mish Mountains
| Slieve Mish Mountains | |
|---|---|
| Irish: Sliabh Mis | |
 Slieve Mish Mountains from across the Tralee Bay in the village of Fenit | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Baurtregaum[1][2] |
| Elevation | 851 m (2,792 ft)[2][1] |
| Coordinates | 52°12′N 9°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 | |
| English translation | (unknown) |
| Language of name | Irish |
| Geography | |
  Slieve Mish Mountains Location of Slieve Mish Mountains | |
| Location | Kerry |
| Country | Republic of Ireland |
| Provinces of Ireland | Munster |
| Topo map | OSI Discovery 71 |
| Geology | |
| Type of rock | Purple sandstone (and Quatrzite)[1][3] |
Slieve Mish Mountains (Irish: Sliabh Mis, meaning '(unknown)') 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.
Geology
Like many of the mountain ranges in Kerry, such as the MacGillycuddy Reeks, the Slieve Mish Mountains are composed predominantly of Devonian-era old red sandstone, with with a band of Ordovician-era metasediments on the western slopes of the range.[1][3] The rocks date from the Upper Devonian period (310–450 million years ago) when Ireland was in a hot equatorial setting.[4] During this 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.[4] Chemical oxidation stained the material with a purple–reddish colour (and green in places from chlorination), still visible today.[4] There are virtually no fossils in Old Red Sandstone.[4]
The composition of Old Red Sandstone is variable and contains quartz stones, mudstones, siltstones, and sandstone particles (boulders of conglomerate rock containing quartz pebbles are visible throughout the range).[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.[4]
Geography
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.[5]
The core of the range is the central massif of its highest point Baurtregaum, and the main peaks of the range sit and Baurtregaum's high grassy ridge from Baurtregaum Far NW Top in the east, to Caherconree and Gearhane in the west. Bautregaum has two major glacial U-shaped valleys, the long 4.5-kilometre easterly Curraheen Glen, and the shorter but deeper northerly Derrymore Glen, with its three corrie lakes.[5]
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 Knockbrack and Lack Mountain, to run in a further south-westerly direction to finish at Cnoc na Stuaice.[5]
Etymology
Sliabh denotes a mountain, while the precise meaning of mis has not been validated. [1]
See also
- Lists of mountains in Ireland
- List of mountains of the British Isles by height
- List of P600 mountains in the British Isles
References
- ^ a b c d "Site Name: Slieve Mish Mountains (Special Area of Conservation)" (PDF). Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "Baurtregaum". MountainViews Online Database. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ a b c "Slieve Mish Mountains SAC" (PDF). National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland). September 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d e f Ryan, Jim (2006). Carrauntoohil and MacGillycuddy's Reeks: A Walking Guide to Ireland's Highest Mountains. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1905172337.
- ^ a b c "Site Report No. 15: Slieve Mish Mountains cSAC (002185), Co. Kerry" (PDF). National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland). 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
| British Isles |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | ||
| Outside Scotland | ||
| England | ||
| Ireland | ||
| County tops | ||
 | This article related to the geography of County Kerry, Ireland is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |