Sawel Mountain ()MountainViews /ref> is the highest peak in the
Sperrin Mountains
The Sperrins or Sperrin Mountains () are a range of mountains in Northern Ireland and one of the largest upland areas in Northern Ireland. The range stretches from Strabane eastwards to Slieve Gallion in Desertmartin and north towards Limava ...
, and the 8th highest in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...
. It is also the highest mountain in Northern Ireland outside of the Mourne Mountain range located in
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...
.
Geography
To the north of Sawel is
County Londonderry
County Londonderry (Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulste ...
, and to the south,
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retain ...
. The summit is high and is composed of crystalline limestone. Around the peak, there is "
montane
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...
heathland
A heath () is a shrubland habitat (ecology), habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great B ...
", with plant life including heather,
bilberries
Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is '' Vaccinium myrtill ...
and
cowberries
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northe ...
, although this is being damaged by hillwalking and grazing. Sawel is the source of the River Faughan, a long
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...
of the
River Foyle
The River Foyle () is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of the island of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers River Finn (County Donegal), Finn and River Mourne, Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Repub ...
.
Naming
The Irish name of the mountain is a reference to a glen or hollow on the side of Sawel. It was also historically called Slieve Sawel, from the Irish word ''sliabh'' ("mountain").
Plane crash
On 5 January 1944 a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
Stinson Reliant
The Stinson Reliant is a popular single-engine four- to five-seat high-wing monoplane manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Division of the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation of Wayne, Michigan.
Design and development
The Reliant is a high-win ...
RNAS Eglinton (HMS Gannet)
Royal Naval Air Station Eglinton or RNAS Eglinton was a Royal Naval Air Station located north east of Eglinton, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It opened as a Royal Air Force Station (RAF Eglinton) in 1941, before being transferred to the ...
to RNAS Machrihanish (HMS Landrail) when it crashed into Sawel Mountain in bad weather, killing all three crew. Due to snow drifts on the mountain the bodies of the crew weren't recovered until 29th January.
Lists of mountains in Ireland
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 heigh ...
*
Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles
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 ...
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List of Marilyns in the British Isles
This is a list of Marilyn hills and mountains in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Ireland by height. Marilyns are defined as peaks with a prominence of or more, regardless of height or any other merit (e.g. topographic isolation, as used in ...
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List of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland
This is a list of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland by height. Hewitts are defined as "Hills in England, Wales and Ireland over two thousand" feet in height, the general requirement to be called a "mountain" in the British Isl ...