The Sperrins or Sperrin Mountains () are a range of mountains 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 ...
and one of the largest
upland
Upland or Uplands may refer to:
Geography
*Hill, an area of higher land, generally
*Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points
*Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level
*I ...
areas in Northern Ireland. The range stretches from
Strabane eastwards to
Slieve Gallion in
Desertmartin and north towards
Limavady
Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the 2011 Census. In the 40 years between ...
, in the counties of
Tyrone and
Londonderry. The region has a population of some 150,000 and is a designated
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Features
It has a distinctive
glaciated landscape. The
Glenshane Pass, part of the A6
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...
to
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. Th ...
road, is in the mountains and has notoriously bad weather in winter.
Sawel Mountain is the highest peak in the Sperrins, and the seventh 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 ...
. Its summit rises to . Another of the Sperrins,
Carntogher (464 m), towers over the Glenshane Pass.
Geologically, the Sperrins are formed mostly from Precambrian metamorphic rocks, with some younger Ordovician igneous rocks in the southern flank of the range. The Mountains are very sparsely populated and provide habitat for a diverse range of birds and mammals. Red fox, Sika Deer, Pine Marten and Red Squirrels are commonly found there alongside Peregrine Falcons, Buzzards and Sparrowhawks. Visiting Golden Eagles from the neighbouring reintroduced Donegal population have been sighted across the range from Strabane to Draperstown although no breeding population has yet been established. The Mountains also provide one of the last refuges of Red Grouse in Northern Ireland.
List
Politics
Sperrin was the name of a proposed
United Kingdom constituency
In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons.
Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constit ...
in the
Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies.
See also
*
List of mountains in Ireland
References
External links
Landscapes Unlocked- Aerial footage from the BBC ''Sky High'' series explaining the physical, social and economic geography of Northern Ireland.
Mountain ranges of Northern Ireland
Mountains and hills of County Tyrone
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Northern Ireland
Mountains and hills of County Londonderry
Protected areas of County Londonderry
Protected areas of County Tyrone
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