The Nephin Beg Range or Nephin Mountains
[O'Hara, Bernard. ''Mayo: Aspects of Its Heritage''. Archaeological, Historical & Folklore Society, 1982. p.207] is a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
in
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...
,
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
. The range contains the mountains of
Nephin
Nephin or Nefin ( ga, Néifinn), at 806 metres (2646 ft), is the highest standalone mountain in Ireland and the second-highest peak in Connacht (after Mweelrea), Ireland. It is to the west of Lough Conn in County Mayo. ''Néifinn'' is v ...
(its highest peak),
,
Slieve Carr,
Birreencorragh and Corranabinnia/Cushcamcarragh, among others. The range hosts the Nephin forest, a 4,843
hectares
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ab ...
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
managed by
Coillte
Coillte (; meaning "forests"/"woods") is a state-owned commercial forestry business in Ireland based in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte manage approximately 7% of the country’s land, and operates three businesses - their core forestry business, a ...
.
The range is in the process of becoming Ireland's first designated wilderness area, a 10-15 year project including remaking forest roads as walking trails and setting up huts for sustainable camping. The wilderness, when finished, will cover 16,000 hectares including a large amount of
Ballycroy National Park
Wild Nephin ( ga, Néifinn Fhiáin) is a national park in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It includes much of the Nephin Beg Mountains and one of the largest expanses of peatland in Europe, consisting of 150 square kilometres of Atlantic blanke ...
and
Coillte
Coillte (; meaning "forests"/"woods") is a state-owned commercial forestry business in Ireland based in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte manage approximately 7% of the country’s land, and operates three businesses - their core forestry business, a ...
land.
References
External links
Nephin BegMountain Views
Mountain ranges of Europe
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