Afon_Gwyrfai_from_Pont_Cyrnant_-_geograph

The Afon Gwyrfai is a short river in

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

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 ...

. For half of its length it flows through

Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

. Exiting Llyn y Gader it flows north through the small village of Rhyd-ddu to enter the southeastern end of

Llyn Cwellyn Llyn Cwellyn (''Llyn Quellyn'' in some antiquated texts) is a reservoir in North Wales which supplies drinking water to parts of Gwynedd and Anglesey. It lies on the Afon Gwyrfai in Nant y Betws between Moel Eilio and Mynydd Mawr in the nor ...

. Downstream of the lake it flows northwest past

Betws Garmon Betws Garmon is a community (Wales), community and small hamlet (place), hamlet outside Waunfawr and near Beddgelert in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 249. The summit of Snowdon lies within the community boundaries. Bryn Gloch has th ...

, leaving the national park and continues to the southern edge of

Waunfawr Waunfawr (''gwaun'' + ''mawr'', ") is a village and community, SE of Caernarfon, near the Snowdonia National Park, Gwynedd, in Wales. Description Waunfawr is in the Gwyrfai valley, on the A4085 road from Caernarfon to Beddgelert. It contain ...

. It then turns slightly west to flow on to Bontnewydd beyond which it turns slightly south to enter Foryd Bay (Y Foryd). The tidal channel within the bay flows north into the western end of the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...

. Principal tributary streams include the Afon Treweunydd which contributes water from the reservoir of Llyn Ffynnon-y-gwas and from the lakes of Llyn Glas, Llyn Coch and Llyn Nadroedd in Cwm Clogwyn immediately west of the summit of

Snowdon Snowdon (), or (), is a mountain in Snowdonia in North Wales. It has an elevation of above sea level, which makes it both the highest mountain in Wales and the highest in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands. Snowdon i ...

. The tidal channel of the Gwyrfai within Foryd Bay also accepts the flow of the left bank tributaries, the Afon Foryd, Afon Rhyd and Afon Carrog. The river is shadowed by the line of the

Welsh Highland Railway The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR; ) is a restored Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It runs from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passes through a number of popular tourist destinations includi ...

for much of its length, and by which it is crossed four times. The name may signify the '(river of) curved places', referencing its meandering course.

References

Gwyrfai Gwyrfai {{Wales-river-stub