Ox Mountains
The Ox Mountains are a mountain range in County Sligo. They are also known as Saint Patrick's Mountains after the saint who built churches on its slopes and left his name to some of its wells.[1] In Irish they are known as Sliabh Gamh.[2]
Geography
The highest peak in the Ox Mountains is Knockalongy, which is 1,785 ft high.[3]
The mountains begin immediately south-west of Ballysadare, and run west-south-west for some forty miles to the border with County Mayo, where they are continued to the south-west by the Slieve Gamph range, which runs first on the border of the two counties, and then into Mayo. The mountains have several summits from 1,200 to 1,800 feet high; and Slieve Gamph reaches 1,363 feet.[4]
Geology
Gneiss, schist and granite form the bedrock of the Ox Mountains. This wild area of uplands is covered largely with blanket bog. Some parts are extensively forested, whilst others have numerous outcroppings of rock. To the north and south the land is underlain by limestones and sandstones of Carboniferous age, and is generally farmland.[5] Lead and copper mines were formerly worked in the Ox Mountains, but by 1900, the works had been long since discontinued.[4]
Peaks
| Hill | Height |
|---|---|
| Knockalongy | 1,785 ft |
| Annatoran | 1,680 ft |
| Cloonacool | 1,444 ft |
| Sruffaungarve Top | 1,312 ft |
| Meenamaddo | 1,083 ft |
| Knocknashee | 906 ft |
References
- ↑ The History of Sligo: Town and County Terence O'Rorke, p. 3, 1890.
- ↑ Slieve Gamph or the Ox Mountains Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved: 2012-04-09.
- ↑ "Ox Mountains". MountainViews. http://mountainviews.ie/mv/index.php?mtnindex=366. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Description of County Sligo from Atlas and Cyclopedia of Ireland (1900)". Library Ireland. http://www.libraryireland.com/Atlas/Sligo.php. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
- ↑ "Walks in the Ox Mountains". Geological Survey of Ireland. http://www.gsi.ie/Education/Sites+Walks+Field+Trips/Walks+in+the+Ox+Mountains.htm. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Ox Mountains) |
- Location map: 54°10’0"N, 8°49’60"W