Moel Penderyn
Encyclopedia
Moel Penderyn is a hill on the edge of Penderyn village, in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the county borough
of Rhondda Cynon Taff
, south Wales
. It also appeared on older maps as 'Y Foel Penderyn'. Its summit at 371m is marked by a trig point
.
rocks and the overlying Twrch Sandstone
(former 'Basal Grit') of the Marros Group
(former 'Millstone Grit Series
'), also of Carboniferous
age. It lies along the east-northeast to south-southwest aligned Neath Disturbance
, a geological structure associated with the Caledonian Orogeny
which locally comprises both a major fault and two tight anticlinal folds
.
on its northeastern edge.
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
of 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...
, south 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...
. It also appeared on older maps as 'Y Foel Penderyn'. Its summit at 371m is marked by 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...
.
Geology
The hill is formed from both Carboniferous LimestoneCarboniferous limestone
Carboniferous Limestone is a term used to describe a variety of different types of limestone occurring widely across Great Britain and Ireland which were deposited during the Dinantian epoch of the Carboniferous period. They were formed between 363 and 325 million years ago...
rocks and the overlying Twrch Sandstone
Marros Group
The Marros Group is the name given to a suite of rocks of Namurian age laid down during the Carboniferous period in South Wales. These rocks were formerly known as the Millstone Grit Series but are now distinguished from the similar but geographically separate rock sequences of the Pennines and...
(former 'Basal Grit') of the Marros Group
Marros Group
The Marros Group is the name given to a suite of rocks of Namurian age laid down during the Carboniferous period in South Wales. These rocks were formerly known as the Millstone Grit Series but are now distinguished from the similar but geographically separate rock sequences of the Pennines and...
(former 'Millstone Grit Series
Millstone Grit
Millstone Grit is the name given to any of a number of coarse-grained sandstones of Carboniferous age which occur in the Northern England. The name derives from its use in earlier times as a source of millstones for use principally in watermills...
'), also of Carboniferous
Carboniferous
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. It lies along the east-northeast to south-southwest aligned Neath Disturbance
Neath Disturbance
The Neath Disturbance is a geological structure which stretches across south Wales from Swansea Bay northeastwards as far as Hereford in western England. It comprises a series of both faults and associated folds which were active during the mountain-building period known as the Variscan orogeny...
, a geological structure associated with the Caledonian Orogeny
Caledonian orogeny
The Caledonian orogeny is a mountain building era recorded in the northern parts of the British Isles, the Scandinavian Mountains, Svalbard, eastern Greenland and parts of north-central Europe. The Caledonian orogeny encompasses events that occurred from the Ordovician to Early Devonian, roughly...
which locally comprises both a major fault and two tight anticlinal folds
Fold (geology)
The term fold is used in geology when one or a stack of originally flat and planar surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, are bent or curved as a result of permanent deformation. Synsedimentary folds are those due to slumping of sedimentary material before it is lithified. Folds in rocks vary in...
.
Industrial remains
The remains of tramways skirt the eastern flanks of the hill and a former tramway incline can still be seen to rise up towards a quarry which once worked deposits in the centre of the hill. Disused quarries working both limestone and gritstone adorn its eastern and northern sides.Access
The hill is open country and therefore available for walkers to wander at will. Additional access is provided by a public bridleway along its southern flanks and a public footpath between Penderyn village and the waterfall of Sgwd yr EiraWaterfall Country (Wales)
Waterfall Country is the name given to an area around the head of the Vale of Neath in South Wales where an unusually large number of spectacular and publicly accessible falls are to be found...
on its northeastern edge.