Mynydd Eilian, sometimes also referred as ''Mynydd Llaneilian'', is a hill in

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, Wales.

Etymology

The word ''Mynydd'' in Welsh stands for ''Mountain''. ''Eilian'' refers to Saint Elian (), to whom are named several nearby places and buildings, like the village of

Llaneilian Llaneilian () is a village and community in Anglesey, Wales. It is located in the north east of the island, east of Amlwch, north west of Menai Bridge and north of Llangefni. The community includes the villages and hamlets of Dulas, Llanei ...

and the Saint Eilian's Church.

Physical geography

The trig point on Mynydd Eilian - geograph

Mynydd Eilian, after the

Mynydd Bodafon is a small collection of peaks including which is the highest point on the island of Anglesey (although not in the county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers ...

, is the second-highest hill of the

Isle of Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

. The hill is located close to the NE extremity of Anglesey, and overlooks

and the Point Lynas (). Because of its

topographic 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 ...

is classified as a

HuMP Hump, The Hump, or humping may refer to: Biological * Hump, the fleshy mass on the back of a camel containing its fat reservoir ** For other examples, see the list of animals with humps * Humping, slang for sexual intercourse ** Dry humping, a fo ...

. With the

Parys Mountain Parys Mountain () is located south of the town of Amlwch in north east Anglesey, Wales. Originally known as Trysclwyn, the high ground is reputed to have gained its current name when it was given to Robert Parys, Chamberlain of North Wales by ...

is a visual landmark of the nearby area. South of the Mynydd Eilian stands a lower hill named "Mynydd Nebo", where is located a couple of telecomunication masts.

History

An archeologic site named ''Llys Caswallon'', located some hundred metres E of the hilltop, was studied in the 2010s. Some clues lead to identify it as a prehistoric enclosure.

Access to the summit

The hill summit can be accessed from the village of Pengorffwysfa, at first by an asphalted lane and then following a public footpath.

Conservation

Mynydd Eilian is part of the Anglesey

AONB An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

, and thus some activities or construction works can be restricted because of that. Around the hill was also extablished a RIGS named ''Mynydd Eilian RIGS Site'', mainly to preserve some interesting outcrops of

hornblende Hornblende is a complex silicate minerals#Inosilicates, inosilicate series of minerals. It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole. Hornblende minerals are common ...

picrite Picrite basalt or picrobasalt is a variety of high-magnesium olivine basalt that is very rich in the mineral olivine. It is dark with yellow-green olivine phenocrysts (20-50%) and black to dark brown pyroxene, mostly augite. The olivine-rich ...

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...

s. The rocks of the site date back to the

Palaeozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma at the start of ...

age.

Panorama

File:Mynydd Eilian NE panorama.png, NE view from the hilltop File:Mynydd Eilian SW panorama.png, SW view from the hilltop

References

{{reflist Mountains and hills of Anglesey Llaneilian