Benbaun
Binn Bhán
Summit and south face of Benbaun, as viewed fromBencollaghduff;Muckanaght is back left
Highest point
Elevation	729 m (2,392 ft)[1]
Prominence	684 m (2,244 ft)[1]
Listing	P600,County top (Galway),100 Highest Irish Mountains,Marilyn,Hewitt,Arderin,Simm,Vandeleur-Lynam
Coordinates	53°31′16″N9°49′52″W / 53.52111°N 9.83111°W /53.52111; -9.83111[1]
Naming
English translation	White Mountain
Language of name	Irish
Geography
Benbaun Location in Ireland
Location	County Galway, Ireland
Parent range	Twelve Bens
OSI/OSNI grid	L7855853903
Topo map	OSiDiscovery 37
Geology
Rock type(s)	Pale quartzites, grits, graphitic Bedrock[1]

Benbaun (Irish:Binn Bhán, meaning 'white peak')^[2] is a mountain inCounty Galway, Ireland. With a height of 729 metres (2,392 ft), it is the 72nd highest peak in Ireland on theArderin scale,^[3] and the 88th highest peak on theVandeleur-Lynam scale.^[4][5] Benbaun is situated at the centre of the coremassif of theTwelve Bens mountain range in theConnemara National Park and is the tallest mountain of the Twelve Bens range, and thecounty top for Galway.^[5][6]

According to Irish academic Paul Tempan, the "white peak" in the Irish language name derives from the abundance ofquartzite rock in the summit of Benbaun.^[2] Tempan notes that Benbaun is the "Mont Blanc" of Connemara.^[2]

Benbaun is the highest mountain of theTwelve Bens range, which is situated in theConnemara National Park in westCounty Galway. Benbaun lies at the centre of the range and is situated in the middle of a long east-west ridge that to the west includes the major Bens ofBenfree (Irish:Binn Fraoigh, meaning 'peak of the heather')^[2] 638 metres (2,093 ft),Muckanaght (Irish:Muiceanach, meaning 'hill like a pig')^[2] 654 metres (2,146 ft), andBencullagh (Irish:An Chailleach, meaning 'peak of the hag/witch')^[2] 632 metres (2,073 ft), and the minor Ben ofMaumonght (Irish:Mám Uchta, meaning 'pass of the breast or ridge')^[2] 602 metres (1,975 ft), and its subsidiary peak ofMaumonght SW Top 454 metres (1,490 ft). To the east is a long flat 3.5-kilometre ridge at the end of which lies the minor Ben ofKnockpasheemore (Irish:Binn Charrach, meaning 'rocky peak')^[2] 412 metres (1,352 ft) to the far eastern end.^[6]

A deep col to the south, known asMaumina (Irish:Mám Eidhneach), connects Benbaun to the summit ofBencollaghduff 696 metres (2,283 ft), and to the southern Bens of the "Glencoaghan Horseshoe" which forms around the Glencoaghan River.^[6][7]

Another deep col to the north, known asMaumnascalpa connects Benfree and Muckanaght to the northern Ben ofBenbrack 582 metres (1,909 ft), which sits on its own small massif with the subsidiary peaks ofKnockbrack 442 metres (1,450 ft), and another peak namedBenbaun, at 447 metres (1,467 ft).^[6][8]

Benbaun sits at the apex of two major glaciatedU-shaped valleys.^[6][7] To the east is the Gleninagh Valley (Irish:Gleann Eidhneach), from which the Gleninagh river flows. This valley is bounded by two large long north-easterly rocky spurs, and the southern spur contains "Carrot Ridge" (Irish:Meacan Buí), an important area for rock-climbing in the Bens, with climbs varying from Diff (D) to Very Severe (VS) and ranging from 150 to 320 metres in length.^[9] To the south-west is the large valley of the Owenglin river which is bounded by several major Bens on each of its sides.^[6][7]

Benbaun'sprominence of 684 metres (2,244 ft) qualifies it as aP600, and aMarilyn, and it also ranks it as the 41st-highest mountain in Ireland on theMountainViews Online Database,100 Highest Irish Mountains, where the minimum prominence threshold is 100 metres.^[5][10]

The most straightforward route to climb Benbaun either via the pass of Maumina by walking up the Gleninagh valley, or by staying on higher ground by first summiting Knockpasheemore and then traversing the 3.5-kilometre ridge to the summit; both routes total over 9-kilometres and 4–5 hours of walking.^[11]

Because Benbaun lies off the very popular 16–kilometre 8–9 hourGlencoaghan Horseshoe, it gets fewer visits despite being the tallest Ben in the range.^[12][13] However, Benbaun sits close to the apex of three other well-regarded "horseshoe climbs" of equivalent difficulty in the Bens:

• 
  (l-to-r)Bencullagh,Muckanaght and Benbaun, viewed fromBencollaghduff
• 
  Intersection of Benbaun,Bencollaghduff andBenbreen, viewed fromMuckanaght
• 
  (l-to-r)Derryclare,Bencorr, and Benbaun, viewed fromLetterbreckaun
• 
  Benbaun (left) and the long easterly ridge to Knockpasheemore (right)
• 
  Benfree (left) and Benbaun (right), viewed from summit ofMuckanaght

• Fairbairn, Helen (2014).Ireland's Best Walks: A Walking Guide. Collins Press.ISBN 978-1848892118.
• MountainViews Online Database (Simon Stewart) (2013).A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins. Collins Books.ISBN 978-1-84889-164-7.
• Paul Phelan (2011).Connemara & Mayo - A Walking Guide: Mountain, Coastal & Island Walks. Collins Press.ISBN 978-1848891029.
• Dillion, Paddy (2001).Connemara: Collins Rambler's guide. Harper Collins.ISBN 978-0002201216.
• Dillion, Paddy (1993).The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits. Cicerone.ISBN 978-1852841102.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBenbaun.

• Twelve Bens
• Mweelrea, major range in Killary Harbour
• Maumturks, major range in Connemara
• List of Irish counties by highest point
• Lists of mountains in Ireland
• Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles
• List of P600 mountains in the British Isles
• List of Marilyns in the British Isles
• List of Hewitt mountains in England, Wales and Ireland

• MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website, Benbaun
• MountainViews: Irish Online Mountain Database
• The Database of British and Irish Hills, the largest database of British Isles mountains ("DoBIH")
• Hill Bagging UK & Ireland, the searchable interface for theDoBIH

• Marilyns of Ireland
• Hewitts of Ireland
• Mountains and hills of County Galway
• Highest points of Irish counties
• Mountains under 1000 metres

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• Coordinates on Wikidata
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• Pages using infobox mountain with language parameter
• Articles containing Irish-language text
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