Bracken in a woodland clearing at Allt y Benglog National Nature Reserve - geograph

Allt y Benglog is a small national nature reserve near Dolgellau in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the 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 ...

. Its position on the lower slopes of

Rhobell Fawr Rhobell Fawr is the site of an ancient volcano that was active during the Early Ordovician period in the Arenig range within the Snowdonia National Park. Despite its modest height of 734 m (2,408 feet), it is a mountain with views ...

, one of north Wales’ extinct

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the Crust (geology), crust of a Planet#Planetary-mass objects, planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Ear ...

es, results in an unusual mix of plants and trees which spring from its subterranean mix of

volcanic rock Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic ...

s. A permanently damp atmosphere is created through a combination of numerous

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

s and good tree coverage, and allows an unusually rich variety of moisture-loving mosses, plants and trees to thrive.

Notes

National nature reserves in Wales Nature reserves in Gwynedd Brithdir and Llanfachreth {{National nature reserves in Wales