The Caha Mountains (''An Cheacha'' in

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

) are a range of low

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

mountains situated on the

Beara peninsula Beara ( ga, Béarra) or the Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare "river" (actually a bay) to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It contains two mountain ranges running down it ...

in south-west

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The highest peak is

Hungry Hill Hungry Hill or Knockday ( ga, Cnoc Daod) is the highest of the Caha Mountains on the Beara Peninsula in Munster, Ireland. Etymology The first part of the Irish name ''Cnoc Daod'' means "hill". The second part may be a dialectal variant of ...

, tall. Other notable peaks include

Knocknagree Knocknagree (; the hill of the horse stud) is located in the north-west of County Cork in Ireland. Located on the R582 ( Ballydesmond to Macroom) regional road it is 5 km north of Rathmore. It is approximately one mile from the Cork-Ke ...

Sugarloaf Mountain Sugarloaf Mountain ( pt, Pão de Açúcar, ) is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the mouth of Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Rising above the harbor, the peak is named for its resemblance to ...

, Eskatarriff, Knocknaveacal, Derryclancy, Nareera, Killane Mountain and Baurearagh Mountain.

The mountains

The Caha Mountains have been listed 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 ...

. The underlying rock is

Old Red Sandstone The Old Red Sandstone is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the northeastern seaboard of North America. It also exte ...

and the terrain generally consists of rocky crags and outcrops interspersed with grassy slopes. The southern part of the range has a broad ridge with a boggy plateau dotted with small lakes, and there are substantial cliffs in the northwestern part. Other habitat types include

blanket bog Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses o ...

, wet and dry heathland, scree slopes and species-rich grassland.

Ecology

The grassland is dominated by purple moor grass (''

Molinia caerulea ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid so ...

''), with some mat grass (''

Nardus stricta ''Nardus'' is a genus of plants belonging to the grass family, containing the single species ''Nardus stricta'', known as matgrass. It is placed in its own tribe Nardeae within the subfamily Pooideae. The name derives from ancient Greek ' () from ...

''), ''

Festuca ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every ...

'' spp. and ''

Agrostis ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species * '' Agrostis aequivalvi'' ...

'' spp.. This thins out on the ridges and summits. The dry alpine heath supports heather (''

Calluna vulgaris ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wid ...

''), bell heather (''

Erica cinerea ''Erica cinerea'', the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe. The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 5 for most nectar produ ...

''), crowberry (''

Empetrum nigrum ''Empetrum nigrum'', crowberry, black crowberry, or, in western Alaska, blackberry, is a flowering plant species in the heather family Ericaceae with a near circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually dioecious, but there ...

''), roseroot (''

Rhodiola rosea ''Rhodiola rosea'' (commonly golden root, rose root, roseroot, Aaron's rod, Arctic root, king's crown, ''lignum rhodium'', orpin rose) is a perennial flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae. It grows naturally in wild Arctic regions of Europe ...

''), St. Patrick's-cabbage ('' Saxifraga spathularis''), heath bedstraw ('' Galium saxatile''), dwarf willow (''

Salix herbacea ''Salix herbacea'', the dwarf willow, least willow or snowbed willow, is a species of tiny creeping willow (family Salicaceae) adapted to survive in harsh arctic and subarctic environments. Distributed widely in alpine and arctic environments ar ...

'') and viviparous fescue (''

Festuca vivipara ''Festuca vivipara'', the viviparous sheep's-fescue, is a species of grass native to northern Europe, northern Asia, and subarctic North America. The specific epithet ''vivipara'' is Latin, referring to the florets' alteration to leafy tufts. Th ...

''), together with the ferns Wilson's filmy-fern (''

Hymenophyllum wilsonii ''Hymenophyllum wilsonii'', the Wilson's filmy-fern, is a small, fragile, perennial leptosporangiate fern which forms large dense colonies from creeping rhizomes. Distribution Confined to western Europe (Britain, Ireland, France, Norway, Spain ...

''), hard fern ('' Struthiopteris spicant ''), brittle bladder-fern (''

Cystopteris fragilis ''Cystopteris fragilis'' is a species of fern known by the common names brittle bladder-fern and common fragile fern. It can be found worldwide, generally in shady, moist areas. The leaves are up to 30 or 40 centimeters long and are borne on fles ...

''), green spleenwort (''

Asplenium viride ''Asplenium viride'' is a species of fern known as the green spleenwort because of its green stipes and rachides. This feature easily distinguishes it from the very similar-looking maidenhair spleenwort, ''Asplenium trichomanes''. Taxonomy Gr ...

''), fir clubmoss (''

Huperzia selago ''Huperzia selago'', the northern firmoss or fir clubmoss, is a vascular plant in the family Lycopodiaceae. It has a circumpolar distribution in temperate and boreal regions in both hemispheres. Distribution and habitat It is found in the north ...

'') and the moss '' Cyclodictyon laetevirens''. The Caha Mountains are notable for the presence of '' Minuartia recurva'', a montane

sandwort Sandwort is the common name of several flowering plants in the carnation family, which may be members of the following genera: *'' Arenaria'' *''Minuartia'' *''Moehringia ''Moehringia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllacea ...

otherwise not found in Ireland. During a botanical survey of these mountains in 2000, over two hundred plants of the Alpine sandwort were found in each of its two known locations. Other rare plants were recorded; these included the heath pearlwort ('' Sagina subulata''), the hybrid rush '' Juncus conglomeratus x J. effusus'', and the marsh clubmoss ''

Lycopodiella inundata ''Lycopodiella inundata'' is a species of club moss known by the common names inundated club moss, marsh clubmoss and northern bog club moss. It has a circumpolar and circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern Northern Hemisph ...

'', found in abundance on one rock ledge on Knockowen. The Killarney fern ('' Vandenboschia speciosa'') can also be found here. The Caha Mountains are home to the

Kerry slug The Kerry slug or Kerry spotted slug (''Geomalacus maculosus'') is a species of terrestrial, pulmonate, gastropod mollusc. It is a medium-to-large sized, air-breathing land slug in the family of roundback slugs, Arionidae. Adult Kerry slu ...

, otters, badgers, hares, lizards, brown trout and frogs. The

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

breeds here and the

ring ouzel The ring ouzel (''Turdus torquatus'') is a mainly European member of the thrush family Turdidae. It is a medium-sized thrush, in length and weighing . The male is predominantly black with a conspicuous white crescent across its breast. Females ...

is one of the birds that visits the area during

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

The mountains

Ecology

References

See also