Twelve Bens/Benna Beola | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Peak | Benbaun |
Elevation | 729 m (2,392 ft)[1] |
Coordinates | 53°30′N 9°49′W / 53.50°N 9.81°W |
Dimensions | |
Area | 161.3 km2 (62.3 sq mi) |
Naming | |
Native name | Na Beanna Beola |
English translation | The peaks of Beola[a] |
Geography | |
Location | Connemara, County Galway, Ireland |
Provinces of Ireland | Connacht |
Topo map | OSI Discovery 37, 44 |
Geology | |
Rock age | Precambrian-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]
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