Benbaun () is a mountain in

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Ireland. With a height of , it is the 72nd highest peak in Ireland on the

Arderin Arderin () is a mountain on the border between counties Laois and Offaly in Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is ...

scale, and the 88th highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork, Benbaun is situated at the centre of the core

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

of the

Twelve Bens The Twelve Bens or Twelve Pins, also called the Benna Beola (), is a mountain range of mostly sharp-peaked quartzite summits and ridges in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The widest definition of the rang ...

mountain range in the

Connemara National Park Connemara National Park () is one of eight national parks in Ireland, managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. It is located in the northwest of Connemara in County Galway, on the west coast. History Connemara National Park was fo ...

and is the tallest mountain of the Twelve Bens range, and the

county top The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt ...

for Galway.

Naming

According to Irish academic Paul Tempan, the "white peak" in the Irish language name derives from the abundance of

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

rock in the summit of Benbaun. Tempan notes that Benbaun is the "Mont Blanc" of Connemara.

Geography

Benbaun is the highest mountain of the

range, which is situated in the

in west

. Benbaun lies at the centre of the range and is situated in the middle of a long east-west ridge that to the west includes the major Bens of Benfree () , Muckanaght () , and Bencullagh () , and the minor Ben of Maumonght () , and its subsidiary peak of Maumonght SW Top . To the east is a long flat 3.5-kilometre ridge at the end of which lies the minor Ben of Knockpasheemore () to the far eastern end. A deep col to the south, known as Maumina (), connects Benbaun to the summit of

Bencollaghduff Bencollaghduff () at , is the 93rd–highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin scale, and the 115th–highest peak on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Vandeleur-Lynams, Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, ...

, and to the southern Bens of the "Glencoaghan Horseshoe" which forms around the Glencoaghan River. Another deep col to the north, known as Maumnascalpa connects Benfree and Muckanaght to the northern Ben of Benbrack , which sits on its own small massif with the subsidiary peaks of Knockbrack , and another peak named

Benbaun Benbaun () is a mountain in County Galway, Ireland. With a height of , it is the 72nd highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 88th highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's M ...

, at . Benbaun sits at the apex of two major glaciated

U-shaped valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of Glacial period, glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with s ...

s. To the east is the Gleninagh Valley (), from which the Gleninagh river flows. This valley is bounded by two large long north-easterly rocky spurs, and the southern spur contains " Carrot Ridge" (), an important area for rock-climbing in the Bens, with climbs varying from Diff (D) to Very Severe (VS) and ranging from 150 to 320 metres in length. To the south-west is the large valley of the Owenglin river which is bounded by several major Bens on each of its sides. Benbaun's

prominence In topography, prominence or relative height (also referred to as autonomous height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contour line encircling ...

of qualifies it as a P600, and a Marilyn, and it also ranks it as the 41st-highest mountain in Ireland on the

MountainViews Online Database In these lists of mountains in Ireland, those within Northern Ireland, or on the Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border, are marked with an asterisk, while the rest are within the Republic of Ireland. Where mountains are ranked by height ...

, '' 100 Highest Irish Mountains'', where the minimum prominence threshold is 100 metres.

Hill walking

The most straightforward route to climb Benbaun either via the pass of Maumina by walking up the Gleninagh valley, or by staying on higher ground by first summiting Knockpasheemore and then traversing the 3.5-kilometre ridge to the summit; both routes total over 9-kilometres and 4–5 hours of walking. Because Benbaun lies off the very popular 16–kilometre 8–9 hour ''Glencoaghan Horseshoe'', it gets fewer visits despite being the tallest Ben in the range. However, Benbaun sits close to the apex of three other well-regarded "horseshoe climbs" of equivalent difficulty in the Bens:

Gallery

File:Bencullagh, Muckanaght & Benbaun from Bencollaghduff.jpg, (l-to-r) Bencullagh, Muckanaght and Benbaun, viewed from

File:Intersection of Benbaun, Bencollaghduff and Benbreen (from Muckanaght).jpg, Intersection of Benbaun,

and

Benbreen Benbreen () at , is the 100th–highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin scale, and the 122nd–highest peak on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Vandeleur-Lynams, Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (Septe ...

, viewed from Muckanaght File:Derryclare, Bencorr & Benbaun from lower south ridge of Letterbreckaun.jpg, (l-to-r)

Derryclare Derryclare or Derryclare Mountain () is a mountain at the southern edge of Twelve Bens range in Connemara National Park in County Galway, Ireland. At , it is the 119th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, and the 145th–highest peak o ...

Bencorr Bencorr () at , is the 82nd–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 102nd–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", ...

, and Benbaun, viewed from

Letterbreckaun Letterbreckaun () is one of the Maumturk Mountains of Connemara in County Galway, Ireland. At , it is the second-tallest of the Maumturks, the 129th–highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin list, and 159th ...

File:Benbaun.JPG, Benbaun (left) and the long easterly ridge to Knockpasheemore (right) File:Benfree & Benbaun from Muckanaght.jpg, Benfree (left) and Benbaun (right), viewed from summit of Muckanaght

Bibliography

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References

External links

MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website
Benbaun

the largest database of British Isles mountains ("

DoBIH The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt ...

")
Hill Bagging UK & Ireland
the searchable interface for the

{{IrishTrails Marilyns of Ireland Hewitts of Ireland Mountains and hills of County Galway Highest points of Irish counties Mountains under 1000 metres