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Afon Crai
The Afon Crai is a river in Powys, Wales rising in the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National Park and flowing north into the River Usk. The headwaters known as Blaen-crai flow north from Bwlch Bryn-rhudd, a col between the Crai valley and the upper Swansea Valley for 2 km into the Cray Reservoir. The river emerges from below the dam to flow a further 8 km through the dispersed settlement of Crai (or 'Cray'). In common with other tributaries of the River Usk and the Usk itself, the Afon Crai is designated as a special area of conservation for its three species of lamprey, twaite shad, European bullhead The European bullhead (''Cottus gobio'') is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, common bu ..., Atlantic salmon and otter. References Rivers of Powys Rivers of the Brecon Beacons Nat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afon Crai - Geograph
This is a list of rivers of Wales, organised geographically. It is taken anti-clockwise from the Dee Estuary to the M48 Bridge that separates the estuary of the River Wye from the River Severn. Tributaries are listed down the page in an upstream direction, starting with those closest to the sea. The main stem (or principal) river of a catchment is given, left-bank tributaries are indicated by (L), and right-bank tributaries by (R). Note that, in general usage, the 'left (or right) bank of a river' refers to the left (or right) hand bank as seen when looking downstream. Where a named river is formed by the confluence of two differently named rivers, these are labelled as (Ls) and (Rs) for the left and right forks. A prime example is the formation of the River Taff from the Taf Fawr and the Taf Fechan at Cefn Coed-y-cymmer. The list includes more or less every watercourse named on Ordnance Survey mapping and thus many of the main rivers of Wales (as defined by Natural Resources W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crai (village)
Crai is a village in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the county of Powys, Wales and the historic county of Breconshire. The population of Cray community at the 2011 census was 241. Within the community are the hamlet of Felin-Crai and many dispersed farms around the valley of the Afon Crai. The river is dammed 2 km / 1.5 mi southwest of the village to form Cray Reservoir. Crai means fresh, raw water.Owen, H.W. & Morgan, R. 2007 'Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales' Gomer Press, Ceredigion The famous Llywel Stone (see Llywel Llywel () is a small village located on the A40, about west of Sennybridge in Brecknockshire (currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Powys), Wales. The Afon Gwydderig runs through the village, not far from its source. Llywel ...) was found close to the Crai/Trecastle boundary. A history of the village is contained in Lewis, D. Craionog: Hanes plwyf Defynog : yn cynnwys y rhanbarthau cynlynol; Crai, Glyntawy, Senni, G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among other animals. Etymology The word ''otter'' derives from the Old English word or . This, and cognate words in other Indo-European languages, ultimately stem from the Proto-Indo-European language root , which also gave rise to the English word "water". Terminology An otter's den is called a holt or couch. Male otters are called dogs or boars, females are called bitches or sows, and their offspring are called pups or cubs. The collective nouns for otters are bevy, family, lodge, romp (being descriptive of their often playful nature) or, when in water, raft. The feces of otters are typically identified by their distinctive aroma, the smell of which has been described as ranging from freshly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Salmon
The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into it. Most populations are anadromous, hatching in streams and rivers but moving out to sea as they grow where they mature, after which the adults seasonally move upstream again to spawn. When the mature fish re-enter rivers to spawn, they change in colour and appearance. Some populations of this fish only migrate to large lakes, and are "landlocked", spending their entire lives in freshwater. Such populations are found throughout the range of the species. Unlike Pacific species of salmon, ''S. salar'' is iteroparous, which means it can survive spawning and return to sea to repeat the process again in another year. Such individuals can grow to extremely large sizes, although ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Bullhead
The European bullhead (''Cottus gobio'') is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, common bullhead, and cob. The European bullhead is a small demersal fish that lives both in cold, clear, fast-flowing small streams and in middle-sized rivers. It also occurs on gravelly shores of cold lakes. Further, it thrives in diluted brackish water of the Northern Baltic Sea. Description The bullhead has a large broad head and tapering body, large fins and a rounded tail. The eyes are located near the top of the head. To the distinction from the other freshwater sculpin species found in Northern Europe, it can be told from the alpine bullhead ''Cottus poecilopus'' by the fact that the rays of its pelvic fins are of similar lengths while the first and last rays are longer in the alpine bullhead. It can be distinguished from the fourhorn sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twaite Shad
The twait shad or twaite shad (''Alosa fallax'') is a species of fish in the family Clupeidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and is an anadromous fish which lives in the sea but migrates into fresh water to spawn. In appearance it resembles an Atlantic herring but has a row of six to ten distinctive spots on its silvery flanks. They become mature when three or more years old and migrate to estuaries, later swimming up rivers to spawn. Populations of this fish have declined due to overfishing, pollution and habitat destruction. Conservation of this species is covered by Appendix III of the Bern Convention and Appendix II and V of the European Community Habitats Directive. Description The twait shad is a typical herring-type fish and much resembles the allis shad. It has no lateral line and the belly is more rounded than that of the sprat and Baltic herring. The gill cover is ridged and the caudal peduncle has large, plate-like scales. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamprey
Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. The common name "lamprey" is probably derived from Latin , which may mean "stone licker" ( "to lick" + "stone"), though the etymology is uncertain. ''Lamprey'' is sometimes seen for the plural form. There are about 38 known extant species of lampreys and five known extinct species. Parasitic carnivorous species are the most well-known, and feed by boring into the flesh of other fish to suck their blood; but only 18 species of lampreys engage in this micropredatory lifestyle. Of the 18 carnivorous species, nine migrate from saltwater to freshwater to breed (some of them also have freshwater populations), and nine live exclusively in freshwater. All non-carnivorous forms are freshwater species. Adults of the non-carnivorous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Special Area Of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and approximately 1,000 species listed in annex I and II of the directive which are considered to be of European interest following criteria given in the directive. They must be chosen from the Sites of Community Importance by the member states and designated SAC by an act assuring the conservation measures of the natural habitat. SACs complement Special Protection Areas and together form a network of protected sites across the European Union called Natura 2000. This, in turn, is part of the Emerald network of Areas of Special Conservation Interest (ASCIs) under the Berne Convention. Assessment methodology in the United Kingdom Prior to being designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), sites have been assessed under a two-stage pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cray Reservoir
Cray Reservoir is a storage reservoir located in the Brecon Beacons National Park (named after the village of Crai) for the water supply to the city of Swansea in South Wales and was built between 1898 and 1908 by Swansea Corporation. The reservoir now supplies water to the towns in the valley of the River Tawe and north Swansea. The reservoir is one of several established in what is now the Brecon Beacons National Park, an area of Old Red Sandstone peaks with relatively high rainfall. The 28-metre high dam is within a wide glaciated valley and is estimated to impound some 1,007,000,000 gallons of water. The structure is believed to have been made from over 10 million bricks. Upstream of Cray Reservoir the land is largely upland moorlands or unimproved grassland with one area now given over to coniferous forestry. The impounded water quality is good and the water requires only minimal treatment before entering the water supply system A water supply network or water suppl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Powys
Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geography Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire, and part of historic Denbighshire. With an area of about , it is now the largest administrative area in Wales by land and area (Dyfed was until 1996 before several former counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 were abolished). It is bounded to the north by Gwynedd, Denbighshire and Wrexham County Borough; to the west by Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire; to the east by Shropshire and Herefordshire; and to the south by Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Caerphilly County Borough, Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire and Neath Port Talbot. The largest towns are Newtown, Ystradgynlais, Brecon, Welshpool, Llandrindod W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swansea Valley
The Swansea Valley ( cy, Cwm Tawe) is one of the South Wales Valleys. It is the valley from the Brecon Beacons National Park to the sea at Swansea of the River Tawe in Wales. Administration of the area is divided between the City and County of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, and Powys. A distinction may be drawn between the Lower Swansea valley and the Upper Swansea valley; the former was more heavily industrialised during the 19th and 20th centuries. Settlements and transport Towns and villages include, Clydach, Pontardawe, Ystradgynlais, Ystalyfera and Abercraf. In its September 2005 document ''Towards a Valleys Strategy'', Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council noted that a marked divide between the more remote communities at Ystalyfera and along the Twrch and Amman valleys and the reasonably prosperous southern communities of Pontardawe, Alltwen, Rhos, and Trebanos. The area has had no rail connection since passenger services on the Swansea Vale Railway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mountain Pass
A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migration throughout history. At lower elevations it may be called a hill pass. A mountain pass is typically formed between two volcanic peaks or created by erosion from water or wind. Overview Mountain passes make use of a gap, saddle, col or notch. A topographic saddle is analogous to the mathematical concept of a saddle surface, with a saddle point marking the highest point between two valleys and the lowest point along a ridge. On a topographic map, passes are characterized by contour lines with an hourglass shape, which indicates a low spot between two higher points. In the high mountains, a difference of between the summit and the mountain is defined as a mountain pass. Passes are often found just above the source of a river ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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