Slieve Mish Mountains

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The Slieve Mish Mountains from across Tralee Bay

The Slieve Mish Mountains are a predominantly sandstone mountain range at the eastern end of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. Stretching twelve miles from the first major peak of Barnanageehy outside Tralee in the east, to Cnoc na Stuaice in near Central Dingle in the west, the range has over 17 material peaks, which is to say with a height above 330 feet), with the core of the mountain range based around the massif of its highest peak, Baurtregaum, and its deep glacial valleys of Derrymore Glen and Curraheen Glen.

Name

The Irish language term "Sliabh" denotes a mountain, however, the precise meaning of "Mis" has not been validated. Irish academic Paul Tempan notes that it could be akin to the name of Slemish mountain far away in County Antrim, where the term "Mis" is from a female name, and thus translates as "the mountains of Mis".[1]

Geology

Like many of the mountain ranges in Kerry, such as the MacGillycuddy Reeks, the Slieve Mish Mountains are composed predominantly of Devonian period Old Red Sandstone, with a band of Ordovician period metasediments on the western slopes of the range.[2][3]

The rocks date from the Upper Devonian period (310–450 million years ago) when Ireland was in a hot equatorial setting.[4] During this 60 million year period, Ireland was the site of a major basin, known as the Munster basin, and Cork and Kerry were effectively a large alluvial floodplain.[4] Chemical oxidation stained the material with a purple–reddish colour (and green in places from chlorination), still visible today.[4] There are virtually no fossils in Old Red Sandstone.[4]

The composition of Old Red Sandstone is variable and includes sandstones, mudstones, siltstones, and conglomerates (boulders containing quartz pebbles are visible throughout the range).[4] The Slieve Mish range was also subject to significant glaciation with corries (e.g. the upper lakes of the Derrymore Glen), U-shaped valleys (e.g. the Derrymore Glen and the Curraheen Glen), however the range does not have the sharp rocky arêtes and ridges of the MacGillycuddy Reeks range.[4]

Geography

Overlooking Tralee Bay on the northern side and Dingle Bay on the south, the range extends for twelve miles from just outside Tralee in the east to the centre of the Dingle Peninsula in the west, forming the backbone of the Dingle Peninsula. It extends to four miles at its widest part.

The core of the range is the massif of its highest point Baurtregaum (2,792 feet), and the main peaks of the range sit and Baurtregaum's high grassy ridge from Baurtregaum Far NW Top (1,978 feet) in the east, to Caherconree (2,740 feet), and Gearhane (2,598 feet), in the west.

Bautregaum has two major glacial U-shaped valleys, the two-mile long easterly Curraheen Glen (with the Curraheen River), and the shorter but deeper northerly Derrymore Glen (Derrymore River), with its three corrie lakes.

After descending to the north-south mountain pass of Bóthar na gCloch ("road of the stones") to the west, the spine of the range rises up again at Knockbrack (1,506 feet) and Lack Mountain (1,526 feet), to run in a further south-westerly direction to finish at Cnoc na Stuaice (1,585 feet).

List of peaks

The following are the 17 identifiable Slieve Mish peaks with a height above 100 metres:

Peaks of the Slieve Mish Mountain range
Rank Name Gaelic
(if different)
Translation Height OSI Grid Ref.
1 Baurtregaum Barr Trí gCom Top of Three Hollows 2,792 feet Q749076
2 Caherconree Cathair Conraoi Cú Roí’s Stone Fort 2,740 feet Q733073
3 Baurtregaum NE Top 2,687 feet Q755081
4 Gearhane An Géarán The Fang 2,598 feet Q733082
5 Baurtregaum NW Top 2,372 feet Q747084
6 Baurtregaum Far NE Top 1,978 feet Q768090
7 Castle Hill 1,969 feet Q756063
8 [Caherbla]] Cathair Bhláth Stone Fort of Flowers 1,923 feet Q724052
9 Moanlaur Móin Láir Middle Bog 1,857 feet Q690045
10 Knockmore An Cnoc Mór The Big Hill 1,854 feet Q684042
11 Barnanageehy Bearna na Gaoithe Gap of the wind 1,841 feet Q800082
12 Beenduff An Bhinn Dubh The Black Peak 1,690 feet Q677037
13 Cnoc na Stuaice Cnoc na Stuaice Hill of the Peak 1,585 feet Q666029
14 Lack Mountain Sliabh na Lice Mountain of the Flagstone 1,526 feet Q706045
15 Knockbrack An Cnoc Breac The Speckled Hill 1,506 feet Q702051
16 Kerry|Corrin (unknown) (unknown) 1,089 feet Q685075
17 Knockafeehane (unknown) (unknown) 988 feet Q616014

Outside links

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References

  1. Paul Tempan (February 2012). "Irish Hill and Mountain Names". MountainViews.ie. http://www.mountaineering.ie/_files/Paul%20Tempan%20Irish%20Mountain%20Placenames%20-%20Feb%202012.pdf. 
  2. "Slieve Mish Mountains SAC". National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland). September 2017. https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/protected-sites/natura2000/NF002185.pdf. Retrieved 20 July 2019. 
  3. "Site Name: Slieve Mish Mountains (Special Area of Conservation)". Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht. 20 July 2016. https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/protected-sites/synopsis/SY002185.pdf. Retrieved 20 July 2019. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Ryan, Jim (2006). Carrauntoohil and MacGillycuddy's Reeks: A Walking Guide to Ireland's Highest Mountains. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1905172337.