Afon Hepste () is a
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in
Powys
Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...
,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, though partly forming the county's border with
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff () and Ely valleys, ...
. It runs wholly within the
Brecon Beacons National Park
Brecon Beacons National Park, officially named Bannau Brycheiniog National Park (), is a National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Wales. It is named after the Brecon Beacons (), the mountain range at its centre. The national park ...
.
Its headwaters, the Afon y Waun, Nant y Cwrier and Nant Hepste Fechan, rise on the
Old Red Sandstone
Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...
dip-slopes of
Fforest Fawr and combine to form the Afon Hepste near the farmstead of Hepste Fechan. It enters onto the
Carboniferous Limestone outcrop near this point and sections of its course downstream remain dry in all but flood conditions as the flow disappears underground. The river flows over the Millstone Grit outcrop from some way beyond Hepste Bridge.
[British Geological Survey 1:50,000 map no 231 'Merthyr Tydfil' & accompanying memoir]
The Hepste plunges over a band of resistant gritstone to form Sgwd yr Eira (translated from
Welsh as 'fall of snow'). A public
footpath
A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as Motor vehicle, motorized vehicles, bicycles and horseback, horses. They ...
runs behind this fall, making it one of the most popular destinations in an area that has become known as
Waterfall Country. One mile downstream of the fall, the river joins the
Afon Mellte near to the village of
Ystradfellte.
See also
*
List of waterfalls
This list of notable waterfalls of the world is sorted by continent, then country, then province, state or territory. A waterfall is included if it is at least tall and has an existing Wikipedia article, or it is considered historically sig ...
*
List of waterfalls in Wales
Wales is a mountainous country with a wet climate and hence home to many hundreds of waterfalls. Some are popular visitor attractions, many are celebrated in legend whilst others are relatively unknown.
Naming of falls
As might be expected in th ...
References
External links
images of Afon Hepste and area on Geograph website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hepste
Fforest Fawr
Rivers of the Brecon Beacons National Park
Rivers of Powys
Rivers of Rhondda Cynon Taf