Morfa Harlech Sand Dunes
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Morfa Harlech Sand Dunes
Morfa Harlech National Nature Reserve () is a nature reserve in Wales, located north of Harlech. The reserve reaches across expanses of open sand and sea towards Snowdonia and contains one of the two extensive sand dune systems which make up much of the sandy Meirionnydd coastline, it carries particular importance as the only growing dune system in Wales. Morfa Harlech sand dunes is an extensive dune system stretching northwards from the town of Harlech. The dunes cover 6 km2, of which an area of about 1.5 km2 in the middle has been afforested with Corsican Pine. Nearby is Harlech Castle, which due to the expanding dune system has been taken back from its original position on the coastline 600 years ago. Morfa Harlech is one of Britain's actively growing sand dune systems due to the longshore drift which is currently eroding the dunes at Morfa Dyffryn. See also *Dune *Sand dune ecology *Psammosere A psammosere is a seral community, an ecological succession that began ...
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Nature Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for purposes of conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. They may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park. Various jurisdictions may use other terminology, such as ecological protection area or private protected area in legislation and in official titles of the reserves. History Cultural practices that roughly equate to the establishment and maintenance of reserved areas for animals date bac ...
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Dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat regions covered with wind-swept sand or dunes with little or no vegetation are called ''ergs'' or ''sand seas''. Dunes occur in different shapes and sizes, but most kinds of dunes are longer on the stoss (upflow) side, where the sand is pushed up the dune, and have a shorter ''slip face'' in the lee side. The valley or trough between dunes is called a ''dune slack''. Dunes are most common in desert environments, where the lack of moisture hinders the growth of vegetation that would otherwise interfere with the development of dunes. However, sand deposits are not restricted to deserts, and dunes are also found along sea shores, along streams in semiarid climates, in areas of glacial outwash, and in other areas where poorly cemented sa ...
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Landforms Of Gwynedd
A landform is a natural or anthropogenic land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills, mountains, canyons, and valleys, as well as shoreline features such as bays, peninsulas, and seas, including submerged features such as mid-ocean ridges, volcanoes, and the great ocean basins. Physical characteristics Landforms are categorized by characteristic physical attributes such as elevation, slope, orientation, stratification, rock exposure and soil type. Gross physical features or landforms include intuitive elements such as berms, mounds, hills, ridges, cliffs, valleys, rivers, peninsulas, volcanoes, and numerous other structural and size-scaled (e.g. ponds vs. lakes, hills vs. mountains) elements including various kinds of inland and oceanic waterbodies and sub-surface features. Mountains, hills, plateaux, and plains are the fou ...
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Coast Of Gwynedd
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in natural ecosystems, often home to a wide range of biodiversity. On land, they harbor important ecosystems such as freshwater or estuarine wetlands, which are important for bird populations and other terrestrial animals. In wave-protected areas they harbor saltmarshes, mangroves or seagrasses, all of which can provide nursery habitat for finfish, shellfish, and other aquatic species. Rocky shores are usually found along exposed coasts and provide habitat for a wide range of sessile animals (e.g. mussels, starfish, barnacles) and various kinds of seaweeds. Along tropical coasts with clear, nutrient-poor water, coral reefs can often be found between depths of . According to a United Nations atlas, 44% of all people live within 5 km (3.3mi) of ...
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Talsarnau
Talsarnau () or Talsamau is a village and community in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd in Wales. Its population was 525 in 2001, and had increased to 550 at the 2011 Census. The village of Talsarnau is situated on the A496 coastal road between Maentwrog and Harlech, close to the hamlets of Eisingrug and Llandecwyn. It has one primary school and one pub, "The Ship Aground", which starts serving food from 18:00 (6pm). Talsarnau railway station on the Cambrian Line serves the village. The community also includes Ynys Gifftan and Soar, Gwynedd. Notable people * Mary Evans (1735 – 1789 in Talsarnau), leader of a short-lived religious cult. * Ann Harriet Hughes (1852–1910) a Welsh language novelist * Sir Alfred Charles Glyn Egerton, FRS (1886–1959), chemist, he pioneered the use of liquid methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main co ...
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National Nature Reserves In Wales
National nature reserves in Wales are selected and designated by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) (formerly the Countryside Council for Wales). There are 76 reserves all of which are also SSSIs, they cover , or less than 1.5% of the land area of Wales. They range in size from Dan yr Ogof at to Berwyn which covers . A national nature reserve is designated because of its special biological, geological, habitat or landscape value and most in Wales are open to the public. They include upland and lowland areas, several offshore islands and in some cases estuarine and intertidal zones. Management Although the majority of sites are managed by NRW, a number are managed by other bodies, mainly in the public and wildlife charity sectors, including: List of national nature reserves in Wales {, , {, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! scope="col" , Name ! scope="col" , Region/area ! scope="col" , Reserve manager , - , Aberbargoed Grasslands , , Southeast , , Caerphilly , - , Allt ...
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Psammosere
A psammosere is a seral community, an ecological succession that began life on newly exposed coastal sand. Most common psammoseres are sand dune systems. In a psammosere, the organisms closest to the sea will be pioneer species: salt-tolerant species such as littoral algae and glasswort with marram grass stabilising the dunes. Progressing inland many characteristic features change and help determine the natural succession of the dunes. For instance, the drainage slows down as the land becomes more compact and has better soils, and the pH drops as the proportion of seashell fragments reduces and the amount of humus increases. Sea purslane, sea lavender, meadow grass and heather eventually grade into a typical non-maritime terrestrial eco-system. The first trees (or pioneer trees) that appear are typically fast-growing trees such as birch, willow or rowan. In turn these will be replaced by slow-growing, larger trees such as ash and oak. This is the climax community, defined as the ...
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Sand Dune Ecology
Sand dune ecology describes the biological and physico-chemical interactions that are a characteristic of sand dunes. Sand dune systems are excellent places for biodiversity, partly because they are not very productive for agriculture, and partly because disturbed, stressful, and stable habitats are present in proximity to each other. Many of them are protected as nature reserves, and some are parts of larger conservation areas, incorporating other coastal habitats like salt marshes, mud flats, grasslands, scrub, and woodland. Plant habitat Sand dunes provide a range of habitats for a range of unusual, interesting and characteristic plants that can cope with disturbed habitats. In the UK these may include restharrow ''Ononis repens'', sand spurge ''Euphorbia arenaria'' and ragwort ''Senecio vulgaris'' - such plants are termed ruderals. Other very specialised plants are adapted to the accretion of sand, surviving the continual burial of their shoots by sending up very rapid verti ...
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Morfa Dyffryn
Morfa Dyffryn beach is on the west coast of Wales, between Barmouth and Harlech in Gwynedd. This sandy beach is several miles long and is chiefly known for having an officially recognised naturist area, in length. The beach is very clean and is also known for regular sightings of dolphins. The nearest settlements are the villages of Dyffryn Ardudwy and Llanbedr where several camp and caravan sites and guest-houses are available. Naturism at Morfa Dyffryn Naturism has been practised at Morfa Dyffryn since the late 1930s. The beach can attract several hundred naturists in summer during fine weather - despite which, it is rarely crowded. Most visitors come from North Wales and North West England, although visitors from mainland Europe are not unknown. In 2000, after complaints from local residents of indecent exposure on other parts of beach and the access footpaths, steps were taken to designate a clearly marked 1 kilometre length of the beach as officially naturist. Although ...
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Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2021 of 3,107,500 and has a total area of . Wales has over of coastline and is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon (), its highest summit. The country lies within the Temperateness, north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate. The capital and largest city is Cardiff. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales was formed as a Kingdom of Wales, kingdom under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1055. Wales is regarded as one of the Celtic nations. The Conquest of Wales by Edward I, conquest of Wales by Edward I of England was completed by 1283, th ...
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Harlech Castle
Harlech Castle ( cy, Castell Harlech; ) in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a Grade I listed medieval fortification built onto a rocky knoll close to the Irish Sea. It was built by Edward I during his invasion of Wales between 1282 and 1289 at the relatively modest cost of £8,190. Over the next few centuries, the castle played an important part in several wars, withstanding the siege of Madog ap Llywelyn between 1294 and 1295, but falling to Prince Owain Glyndŵr in 1404. It then became Glyndŵr's residence and military headquarters for the remainder of the uprising until being recaptured by English forces in 1409. During the 15th century Wars of the Roses, Harlech was held by the Lancastrians for seven years, before Yorkist troops forced its surrender in 1468, a siege memorialised in the song "Men of Harlech". Following the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, the castle was held by forces loyal to Charles I, holding out until 1647 when it became the last fortification ...
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European Black Pine
''Pinus nigra'', the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica and Cyprus, as well as Crimea and in the high mountains of Northwest Africa. Description ''Pinus nigra'' is a large coniferous evergreen tree, growing to high at maturity and spreading to wide. The bark is gray to yellow-brown, and is widely split by flaking fissures into scaly plates, becoming increasingly fissured with age. The leaves ('needles') are thinner and more flexible in western populations. The ovulate and pollen cones appear from May to June. The mature seed cones are (rarely to 11 cm) long, with rounded scales; they ripen from green to pale gray-buff or yellow-buff in September to November, about 18 months after pollination. The seeds are dark gray, long, with a yellow-buff wing long; they are wind-dispersed when the cones open from ...
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