The Usk Reservoir () is located in the upper

Usk Valley Usk () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks the ancient cro ...

, at above sea level, in the western part of the

Brecon Beacons National Park Brecon Beacons National Park, officially named Bannau Brycheiniog National Park (), is a National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Wales. It is named after the Brecon Beacons (), the mountain range at its centre. The national park ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The county boundary between

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

and

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

runs through the

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

which lies about six miles to the north of the Black Mountain escarpment. It is an important

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

for walkers on the mountain range. Usk reservoir with Black Mountain peaks - geograph

History

Completed in 1955 by Swansea City Council, the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

is approximately 109 ft (33m) in height and 1600 ft (480m) in width. It was the first example in the UK of an

earth dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface ...

with horizontal drainage blankets. The reservoir covers some of land. It can be located just off the minor road between

Trecastle Trecastle () ("the town of the castle") is a village in Powys, Wales, situated on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park () and in the community of Llywel. The village has a population of about 200. History Trecastle is named after Cast ...

and Llanddeusant, west of

Sennybridge Sennybridge () is a village in Powys, Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire, situated some from Cardiff and from Swansea. It lies west of Brecon on the A40 trunk road to Llandovery, at the point where the Afon Senni flows into th ...

. The reservoir is now owned by

Welsh Water Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

and the surrounding forests are managed on their behalf by

Natural Resources Wales Natural Resources Wales () is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Countryside Council for Wales, E ...

. Most of the area is open to walkers and cyclists via forest tracks and other footpaths. There are several small car parks for visitors. The reservoir is stocked with freshwater fish such as

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

and can be fished with an appropriate licence.

References

External links

Usk reservoir in the Brecon Beacons national parkwww.geograph.co.uk : photos of the Usk reservoir and surrounding area
Dams in Wales Reservoirs in Powys Dams in Powys Reservoirs in Carmarthenshire Reservoirs in the Brecon Beacons National Park Reservoir, Usk {{Carmarthenshire-geo-stub