Craig y Llyn
Encyclopedia
Craig y Llyn is a mountain
situated in Rhigos
on the west side of the upper Cynon Valley
in South Wales
; it is the highest point in the traditional county of Glamorgan
and the highest in the South Wales Valleys
. It is named from the cliffs of its steep northern escarpment which overlook Llyn Fawr
.
Craig y Llyn is situated in Rhigos, which lies in the Cynon Valley in the Rhondda Cynon Taff
, Wales
.
The hill is covered by forest
ry, except for the steep north and northeast faces, and is crowned with a trig point
. Several footpaths
cross near the summit of the hill, including the Coed Morgannwg Way, and the county
boundary
between Neath Port Talbot
and Rhondda Cynon Taff
passes 200 m to the east of the summit. The highest point in Rhondda Cynon Taff, Craig y Llyn, is commonly known as the Rhigos Mountain after the village of Rhigos located on the northern side of the mountain in the Cynon Valley.
s and mudstone
s assigned to the South Wales Coal Measures
. The summit plateau is formed from the Pennant Sandstone of the Upper Coal Measures. The two cwms on its northern flanks which shelter Llyn Fach and Llyn Fawr are of glacial origin. A landslipped mass of rock lies above the western end of the latter lake.
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...
situated in Rhigos
Rhigos
Rhigos is a village in the north of the Cynon Valley, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. For postal purposes it comes under the town of Aberdare, although it is some from Aberdare town centre....
on the west side of the upper Cynon Valley
Cynon Valley
The Cynon Valley , is a famous former coal mining valley within the South Wales Valleys of Wales. The Cynon Valley lies between the other mining Valley of Rhondda and the iron industrial Valley of the Merthyr Valley. Its main towns are Aberdare located North of the Valley and Mountain Ash located...
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
; it is the highest point in the traditional county of Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
and the highest 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...
. It is named from the cliffs of its steep northern escarpment which overlook Llyn Fawr
Llyn Fawr
Llyn Fawr is a lake in the Cynon Valley , South Wales, best known as the site of an important hoard of weapons and tools from the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age...
.
Craig y Llyn is situated in Rhigos, which lies in the Cynon Valley in the Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taf, or RCT, is a county borough in the South Wales Valleys of Wales. It consists of 3 valleys: the Rhondda Valley, Cynon Valley and Taff-Ely Valley...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
The hill is covered by forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
ry, except for the steep north and northeast faces, and is crowned with 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...
. Several footpaths
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
cross near the summit of the hill, including the Coed Morgannwg Way, and the county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
boundary
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
between Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot is a county borough and one of the unitary authority areas of Wales. Neath Port Talbot is the 8th most populous county in Wales and the third most populous county borough....
and Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taf, or RCT, is a county borough in the South Wales Valleys of Wales. It consists of 3 valleys: the Rhondda Valley, Cynon Valley and Taff-Ely Valley...
passes 200 m to the east of the summit. The highest point in Rhondda Cynon Taff, Craig y Llyn, is commonly known as the Rhigos Mountain after the village of Rhigos located on the northern side of the mountain in the Cynon Valley.
Geology
The hill is composed of a thick sequence of sandstoneSandstone
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 assigned to the South Wales 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...
. The summit plateau is formed from the Pennant Sandstone of the Upper Coal Measures. The two cwms on its northern flanks which shelter Llyn Fach and Llyn Fawr are of glacial origin. A landslipped mass of rock lies above the western end of the latter lake.