River Cladagh
The Cladagh River is a small river in Fermanagh which rises from the Marble Arch Caves, below Cuilcagh Mountain, before flowing through Cladagh Glen Nature Reserve and eventually draining into the Arney River, which carries its waters to Upper Lough Erne.
The river takes its name form the Gaelic language, an Chlaideach, meaning washing river.[1] Another river of the same name comes into Fermanagh from across the border.
The Cladagh below ground
The river is created by three tributaries, the Sruh Croppa, the Aghinrawn and the Owenbrean, all of which sink into limestone on the Marlbank, a plateau on northern Cuilcagh Mountain. The three join together underground in the extensive Marble Arch cave system.[2] The Sruh Croppa and Aghinrawn flow together for a short distance from Cradle Hole into Marble Arch Cave, before joining up with the Owenbrean at The Junction.
When water levels are normal, it is possible to take a Marble Arch Caves tour by boat, underground on the initial stretch of the Cladagh, passing the Junction before continuing upstream along the Owenbrean.[2]
Above ground
The main resurgence from the cave system pours from beneath a cliff face into the chaotic limestone collapse fields immediately above the Marble Arch, a natural limestone bridge which lends its name to the cave system. The Cladagh then cascades under the arch and turns abruptly north into the head of Cladagh River gorge, or Cladagh Glen.[3]
Halfway along Cladagh Glen, another large resurgence joins the Cladagh at Cascades Rising. This is the discharge for the Prod's Pot–Cascades Rising cave system, which takes water from a large catchment including Gortmaconnell, Brookfield and more surprisingly Badger Pot and other East Cuilcagh sinks, 3 miles away, and a portion of the Owenbrean River, from small sinks upstream of its main sink at Pollasumera (Gunn, J.).[4]
References
- ↑ "Illustrations of Townlands in Maps". Ulster Placenames – Celebrating Ulster's Townlands. http://www.ulsterplacenames.org/illustrations_of_townlands_in_maps.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jones, Burns, Fogg & Kelly (1997), p. 79
- ↑ "Cladagh River, Marble Arch". Habitas Online. http://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/summary.asp?Item=182. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
- ↑ Jones, Burns, Fogg & Kelly (1997), p. 61
- Jones, Gareth Ll.; Burns, Gaby; Fogg, Tim; Kelly, John (1997). The Caves of Fermanagh and Cavan (2nd Ed.). Lough Nilly Press. ISBN 0-9531602-0-3.