The Sperrins or Sperrin Mountains () are a mountain range in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The range stretches from Strabane and Mullaghcarn in the west, to

Slieve Gallion Slieve Gallion () is a mountain in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is the easternmost of the Sperrin Mountains. It reaches a height of and dominates the western shore of Lough Neagh. Its prominent northeastern summit has a transm ...

and the Glenshane Pass in the east, in the counties of Tyrone and Londonderry. The landscape is mostly

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

and blanket bog. The region has a population of some 150,000 and is a designated

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty 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 ...

Features

It has a distinctive glaciated landscape. The mountains mostly have rounded summits and the landscape is mainly

and blanket bog. The Glenshane Pass, part of the A6

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

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

. 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 The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...

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

Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six. * The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution * A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel * The fraction Music * Sixth interval (music)s: ** major sixth, a musical interval ** minor ...

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 {{Londonderry-geo-stub

Features

List

Politics

See also

References

External links