Black Mountain is a large hill which overlooks the city of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Background

With a height of 1,275 ft (389 m),Walk NI
Divis & Black Mountain
Black Mountain towers over most of west Belfast and is part of the Belfast Hills. Its name is probably derived from the adjoining mountain called

Divis Divis (; ) is a hill and area of sprawling moorland north-west of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. With a height of 1,568 ft (478 m), it is the highest of the Belfast Hills. It is joined with the neighbouring Black Mountain, a ...

(; ), and they may have been seen as one mountain in the past. On the summit is

Black Mountain transmitting station The Black Mountain transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated on land above Ordnance Datum (mean sea level) to the west of the city of Belfast, in Northern Ireland (). It includes a guyed steel lattice ma ...

Geology

Black Mountain is composed of basalt with limestone underneath,Black Mountain Quarry, Belfast
Habitas, Earth Science Conservation Review, National Museums Northern Ireland as is

Cavehill Cave Hill or Cavehill is a rocky hill overlooking the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland, with a height of . It is marked by basalt cliffs and caves, and its distinguishing feature is 'Napoleon's Nose', a tall cliff which resembles the profile ...

further north. There have been flint finds in the area, which also contains raths, deserted farms and overgrown paths joining the fields and homesteads and trails scattered over the mountain. On a clear day there are views of

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come ...

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough (from Old Norse ''Strangr Fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet"PlaceNames N ...

, the Mournes and the

Sperrins The Sperrins or Sperrin Mountains () are a range of mountains in Northern Ireland and one of the largest upland areas in Northern Ireland. The range stretches from Strabane eastwards to Slieve Gallion in Desertmartin and north towards Limava ...

, as well as

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

. For many years people have lobbied for the preservation of the Belfast Hills, hoping to bring an end to many years of quarrying. The quarry is steep and deeply excavated and the basalt from it is used mostly for road stone. The hill is under

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

guardianship.

Awards

*''Amazing Spaces'' award (8 November 2005)Latest News:: Divis & Black Mountains win Award :: Belfast's Official Tourism Website - Gotobelfast.com

References

External links

Virtual tour of Black Mountain
- Virtual Visit Northern Ireland Mountains and hills of County Antrim Volcanism of Northern Ireland Geography of Belfast Surface mines in Northern Ireland {{Belfast-geo-stub