Coity Mountain
Encyclopedia
Coity Mountain is a flat-topped mountain
in the South Wales Valleys
, between Blaenavon
and Abertillery
. The highest points of both Torfaen
and Blaenau Gwent
unitary authorities
are at the summit of Coity Mountain. The summit is also known as Twyn Ffynhonnau Goerion. Some 2km to the southeast lies a major subsidiary top of the hill, Mynydd Varteg Fawr (549m) at the southeastern end of whose broad ridge is a trig point
at 544m. A few hundred metres to the southeast of this summit is a memorial known as the "Dog Stone" which commemorates Carlo the Red Setter, a dog shot accidentally by his master while hunting on the 12 August 1864. Co-ordinates for the Dog Stone 51.45'15.58N 3.05'08.81W. Other notable tops include those of Mulfran (524m) (Welsh
for cormorant, pronounced 'me-al-vran') which overlooks the town of Brynmawr
and Mynydd James immediately east of the town of Blaina
.
Much of the mountain, including the summit is included in the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site
, and a labyrinth of coal mines
, including Big Pit National Coal Museum lies under the mountain.
age sandstone
s and mudstone
s, notably the Pennant Sandstone, outcrops of which occur in places around the margins of its plateau-like top. The stone has been worked in places for building stone and a number of abandoned small quarries may be seen. The lower slopes of the hill are in the Coal Measures
and have been intensively worked for coal with considerable areas of landscaped opencast workings evident along its northeastern side.
Coity Mountain is likely to have stood above the ice during the last ice age
as, unlike in surrounding valleys, there is no glacial till to be found on its slopes. There are areas of peat
and accumulations of head and many small landslips adorn its steeper slopes.
and can be freely traversed on foot.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in the South Wales Valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
, between Blaenavon
Blaenavon
Blaenavon is a town and World Heritage Site in south eastern Wales, lying at the source of the Afon Lwyd north of Pontypool, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. The town lies high on a hillside and has a population of 6,349 people...
and Abertillery
Abertillery
Abertillery is a town in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent in South Wales, north-west of Newport, originally on the Great Western Railway. Its population rose steeply during the period of mining development in South Wales, being 10,846 in the 1891 census and 21,945 ten years later...
. The highest points of both Torfaen
Torfaen
Torfaen is a county borough in Wales within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It was originally formed in 1974 as a district of the county of Gwent and in 1996 it was reconstituted as a unitary authority.-Education:...
and Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent is a county borough in South Wales, sharing its name with a parliamentary constituency. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale and...
unitary authorities
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
are at the summit of Coity Mountain. The summit is also known as Twyn Ffynhonnau Goerion. Some 2km to the southeast lies a major subsidiary top of the hill, Mynydd Varteg Fawr (549m) at the southeastern end of whose broad ridge is a trig point
Trig point
A triangulation station, also known as a triangulation pillar, trigonometrical station, trigonometrical point, trig station, trig beacon or trig point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity...
at 544m. A few hundred metres to the southeast of this summit is a memorial known as the "Dog Stone" which commemorates Carlo the Red Setter, a dog shot accidentally by his master while hunting on the 12 August 1864. Co-ordinates for the Dog Stone 51.45'15.58N 3.05'08.81W. Other notable tops include those of Mulfran (524m) (Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
for cormorant, pronounced 'me-al-vran') which overlooks the town of Brynmawr
Brynmawr
Brynmawr is a market town in Blaenau Gwent, south Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at 1,250 to 1,500 feet above sea level and nestled at the head of the South Wales Valleys...
and Mynydd James immediately east of the town of Blaina
Blaina
Blaina is a small town, situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Brynmawr and Abertillery in the unitary authority of Blaenau Gwent, ancient parish of Aberystruth, preserved county of Gwent and historic county of Monmouthshire.-Notable people:...
.
Much of the mountain, including the summit is included in the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
, and a labyrinth of coal mines
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
, including Big Pit National Coal Museum lies under the mountain.
Geology
The hill is formed from a succession of CarboniferousCarboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
age sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
s and mudstone
Mudstone
Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...
s, notably the Pennant Sandstone, outcrops of which occur in places around the margins of its plateau-like top. The stone has been worked in places for building stone and a number of abandoned small quarries may be seen. The lower slopes of the hill are in the Coal Measures
Coal Measures
The Coal Measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. It represents the remains of fluvio-deltaic sediment, and consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal...
and have been intensively worked for coal with considerable areas of landscaped opencast workings evident along its northeastern side.
Coity Mountain is likely to have stood above the ice during the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
as, unlike in surrounding valleys, there is no glacial till to be found on its slopes. There are areas of peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
and accumulations of head and many small landslips adorn its steeper slopes.
Access
A number of public rights of way cross the mountain though none traverse the summit. There are in addition a number of vehicular tracks and smaller paths which run both around its flanks and along its broad main ridge. Most of the mountain is access land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 is a UK Act of Parliament which came into force on 30 November 2000.As of September 2007, not all sections of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act have yet come into force...
and can be freely traversed on foot.
External links
- Coity Mountain is at coordinates 51.764498°N 3.113727°W
- www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Coity Mountain and surrounding area