The Rhinogydd (a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

plural form, often

anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

as Rhinogs and also known by the alternative Welsh plural Rhinogau) are a range of

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

s located east of

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community in Gwynedd, north Wales and formerly in the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it belonged to the Meirionydd District of the 197 ...

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. The name ''Rhinogydd'' derives from the names of two of the more famous peaks,

Rhinog Fawr ''Rhinog Fawr'' is a mountain in Snowdonia, North Wales and forms part of the Rhinogydd range. It is the third highest summit of the Rhinogydd, losing out to Y Llethr and Diffwys respectively. Its smaller cousin Rhinog Fach lies to the south, se ...

and

Rhinog Fach Rhinog Fach is a mountain in Snowdonia, North Wales and forms part of the Rhinogydd. Technically, Rhinog Fach is a subsidiary summit of Y Llethr, but is a Marilyn. To the north lies its higher cousin Rhinog Fawr, separated by the shapely pass o ...

, although the greatest

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

in the range is reached by

Y Llethr Y Llethr is the highest mountain in the Rhinogydd range of Snowdonia, in north Wales. The summit consists of a flat grassy top marked only by a small cairn. The summit is more in keeping with its southern flanks than its rugged northern ...

, 756 m (2,480 feet).

Foel Penolau Foel Penolau is a mountain close to Moel Ysgyfarnogod in Snowdonia, North Wales and is the northernmost summit of the Rhinogydd, and overlooks Llyn Trawsfynydd. From the summit it is possible to see the towns of Porthmadog and Blaenau Ffestiniog ...

, the northernmost summit of the range, was promoted to a Hewitt in 2018 due to a new survey. The Rhinogydd are notably rocky and heather-clad towards the northern end of the range, especially around

and towards

Moel Ysgyfarnogod Moel Ysgyfarnogod (''Bare hill of the hares'' in Welsh) is a mountain in Snowdonia, North Wales and is the northernmost of the Rhinogydd. Rhinog Fawr lies directly south. It overlooks Llyn Trawsfynydd, and from the summit it is possible to s ...

. The southern end, around

Diffwys Diffwys is a mountain in Snowdonia, Wales, near Barmouth and forms part of the Rhinogydd. On the north side is an exposure of the Caerdion Syncline. It is technically a subsidiary summit of Y Llethr, missing Marilyn status by 2m. It is there ...

and the Ysgethin Valley has a softer, grassy character. A population of

feral goat The feral goat is the domestic goat (''Capra aegagrus hircus'') when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in many parts of the world. Species Feral goats consist of many breeds of goats, all of which stem from the wild goat ...

s are in the range. Over 30

km² Square kilometre ( International spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square kilometer (American spelling), symbol km2, is a multiple of the square metre, the SI unit of area or surface area. 1 km2 is equ ...

are protected as a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

and a National Nature Reserve.

Geology

The Rhinogydd are formed of hard

sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic matter, organic particles at Earth#Surface, Earth's surface, followed by cementation (geology), cementation. Sedimentati ...

rocks of

Cambrian The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...

age which occur as a major anticlinal structure known to geologists as the

Harlech Dome The Harlech Dome is a geological dome in southern Snowdonia in north Wales. It extends approximately from Blaenau Ffestiniog in the north to Tywyn in the south, and includes Harlech, The Rhinogydd, Barmouth and Cadair Idris. The geological layer ...

. This structure which originated during the

Caledonian Orogeny The Caledonian orogeny was a mountain-building era recorded in the northern parts of the British Isles, the Scandinavian Mountains, Svalbard, eastern Greenland and parts of north-central Europe. The Caledonian orogeny encompasses events that occ ...

(mountain-building period) extends from

Cadair Idris Cadair Idris or Cader Idris is a mountain in the Meirionnydd area of Gwynedd, Wales. It lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park near the town of Dolgellau. The peak, which is one of the most popular in Wales for walkers and hiker ...

in the south to

Blaenau Ffestiniog Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,00 ...

in the north. Its erosion by successive ice ages has left the valleys and peaks of the Rhinogydd visible today. The core of the area is formed from the hard-wearing

greywacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

s of the Rhinog Formation. The formation also contains and is overlain by some

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...

s and

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...

s which form a broken zone of softer scenery around the periphery of the area's rugged core. In places, swarms of

dolerite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grained ...

dykes cut through the country rocks in a generally northwest–southeast direction. Much of the lower ground is mantled by

glacial till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

, a legacy of the last ice age.

History of geological investigations

The geology of the area was first characterised by

Adam Sedgwick Adam Sedgwick (; 22 March 1785 – 27 January 1873) was a British geologist and Anglican priest, one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Cambrian and Devonian period of the geological timescale. Based on work which he did on W ...

and

Roderick Murchison Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet, (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871) was a Scotland, Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigat ...

in 1835. The

Geological Survey A geological survey is the systematic investigation of the geology beneath a given piece of ground for the purpose of creating a geological map or model. Geological surveying employs techniques from the traditional walk-over survey, studying outc ...

began work in the area in 1846 and their first maps were published in 1855.Allen, P.M. and Jackson, A.A. "Geology of the Country Around Harlech" British Geological Survey 1985 With the discovery of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

in the area in 1846, the state of geological knowledge increased dramatically. At least a dozen major publications appeared between 1844 and 1939.

Hillwalking in the Rhinogydd

The Rhinogydd are far less well known than the areas in the north of the

Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...

, such as the

Glyderau The Glyderau (a Welsh plural form, also known in English as the Glyders) are a mountain group in Snowdonia, North Wales. The name derives from the highest peaks in the range, Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach. According to Sir Ifor Williams, the word ...

Carneddau The (lit. 'the cairns'; is a Welsh plural form, and is sometimes anglicised to ''Carnedds'') are a group of mountains in Snowdonia, Wales. They include the largest contiguous areas of high ground (over or high) in Wales and England (although l ...

and the

Snowdon Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

itself. This is due to the rugged nature of the landscape in the Rhinogydd and the fame of

as the highest peak in

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 ...

. The Rhinog mountains are popular with hillwalkers looking for a more isolated, wilder walking experience. The peaks of the range are most easily accessed from the west side. Two valleys -

Cwm Nantcol Cwm Nantcol is a valley in the Ardudwy area of the county of Gwynedd in Wales. It lies in the Rhinogydd range of mountains in Snowdonia and carries the Afon Cwmnantcol. At the head of Cwn Nantcol is the Bwlch Drws Ardudwy pass, from where it is ...

('valley of the Nantcol (stream)') and

Cwm Bychan Cwm may refer to: * Cwm (landform), a rounded, glaciated valley, also known as a corrie or cirque * Cwm (software), a general-purpose data processor for the semantic web * Cwm railway station, a station in Cwm, Blaenau Gwent, Wales, 1852–1963 * ...

('small valley') - lead deep into the mountains and may be reached from the village of

Llanbedr Llanbedr () is a village and community south of Harlech. Administratively, it lies in the Ardudwy area, formerly Meirionnydd, of the county of Gwynedd, Wales. History Ancient monuments at Llanbedr include Neolithic standing stones; the St ...

. The most popular walking route in this area begins at the

Roman Steps Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

at , which leads from Cwm Bychan through Bwlch Tyddiad and around

. Despite the name, these steps are not Roman and are in fact the well preserved remains of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

packhorse trail leading from

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

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 ...

. At the top of the Roman Steps, the route curves around the eastern end of Rhinog Fawr and enters Cwm Nantcol via Bwlch Drws Ardudwy ('pass of the doorway of Ardudwy'). A different path leads from Cwm Nantcol, passing around the western end of Rhinog Fawr back to Cwm Bychan via Gloywlyn ('gleaming lake'), completing a circular route that can easily be completed in a day.

Main peaks

The range contains the following

Marilyns This is a list of Marilyn hills and mountains in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Ireland by height. Marilyns are defined as peaks with a prominence of or more, regardless of height or any other merit (e.g. topographic isolation, as used in ...

: *

756 m *

720 m *

712 m * Y Garn 629 m *

623 m * Moelfre 589 m the following Hewitts: *

750 m *

614 m and the following

Nuttalls Nuttall may refer to: People * Nuttall (name) * Nuttall baronets Nature * Nuttall's oak, a fast-growing large deciduous oak tree native to North America * Nuttall's woodpecker, a species of woodpecker found in oak woodlands of California * Nutta ...

: *

Crib-y-rhiw Crib-y-rhiw is a top of Y Llethr and a ridge in the Rhinogydd of Snowdonia, north Wales. The summit straddles a thin ridge connecting Y Llethr to Diffwys Diffwys is a mountain in Snowdonia, Wales, near Barmouth and forms part of the Rhino ...

670 m *

Diffwys West Top Diffwys West Top is a top of Diffwys in Snowdonia, North Wales, near Barmouth and forms part of the Rhinogydd The Rhinogydd (a Welsh plural form, often anglicised as Rhinogs and also known by the alternative Welsh plural Rhinogau) are a range o ...

642 m

References

{{coord, 52, 48, 49.64, N, 3, 59, 18.34, W, display=title Dyffryn Ardudwy Ganllwyd Llanbedr Llanelltyd Llanfair, Gwynedd Talsarnau Trawsfynydd Mountains and hills of Gwynedd Mountains and hills of Snowdonia Sites of Special Scientific Interest in East Gwynedd National nature reserves in Wales