Twelve Bens

Twelve Bens/Benna Beola
View of the range from Roundstone village.
Highest point
PeakBenbaun
Elevation729 m (2,392 ft)[1]
Coordinates53°30′N 9°49′W / 53.50°N 9.81°W / 53.50; -9.81
Dimensions
Area161.3 km2 (62.3 sq mi)
Naming
Native nameNa Beanna Beola
English translationThe peaks of Beola[a]
Geography
Twelve Bens/Benna Beola is located in Ireland
Twelve Bens/Benna Beola
Twelve Bens/Benna Beola
Location of the Twelve Bens
LocationConnemara, County Galway, Ireland
Provinces of IrelandConnacht
Topo mapOSI Discovery 37, 44
Geology
Rock agePrecambrian-Cambrian
Rock type(s)quartzites, grits, graphitic

The Twelve Bens or Twelve Pins, also called the Benna Beola[2] (Irish: Na Beanna Beola, meaning 'the peaks of Beola'),[a] is a mountain range of mostly sharp-peaked quartzite summits and ridges in the Connemara National Park[b] in County Galway, in the west of Ireland.[4] The widest definition of the range includes the Garraun Complex to the north as well as several isolated peaks to the west, and is designated a 16,163-hectare (39,940-acre) Special Area of Conservation.[5]

The highest point is Benbaun at 729 metres (2,392 ft).[6] The range is a popular location for hill-walking activities with the 16–kilometre 8–9 hour Glencoaghan Horseshoe, considered one of the best ridge-walks in Ireland.[7][6] Topographically, the range is partnered with the Maumturks range to the east of the Inagh valley (a Western Way route);[6] and both share a common geology being largely composed of metamorphic marine rocks, being predominantly resistant quartzite but with deposits of schists in the valleys (known as Connemara Dalradian rocks).[8]

  1. ^ "Benbaun". MountainViews Online Database. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  2. ^ "The Twelve Pins or Benna Beola" (English), Beanna Beola (Irish). Placenames Database of Ireland.
  3. ^ Tempan, Paul (February 2012). "Irish Hill and Mountain Names" (PDF). MountainViews.ie. pp. 17–18.
  4. ^ "Twelve Bens". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference gsi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Dillon30 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Helen34 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference ronan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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