| Conwy | |
|---|---|
 Boats in the river estuary atConwy | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Wales |
| District | County Borough of Conwy |
| City | Conwy |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Migneint moor where a number of small streams flow intoLlyn Conwy,Gwynedd |
| Mouth | Conwy estuary |
• location | Irish Sea,Wales |
| Length | 55 km (34 mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Cwm Llanerch |
| • average | 18.59 m3/s (656 cu ft/s)[1] |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Machno,Lledr,Llugwy,Crafnant |
TheRiver Conwy (Welsh pronunciation:[ˈkɔnʊɨ];Welsh:Afon Conwy) is ariver innorth Wales. From its source to its discharge inConwy Bay it is 55 kilometres (34 mi) long and drains an area of 678 square km.[2] "Conwy" was formerlyanglicised as "Conway."
The name 'Conwy' derives from the old Welsh wordscyn (chief) andgwy (water), the river being originally called the 'Cynwy'.[3][4][5][6]
It rises on theMigneint moor where a number of smallstreams flow intoLlyn Conwy, then flows in a generally northern direction, being joined by thetributaries of the riversMachno andAfon Lledr before reachingBetws-y-coed, where it is also joined byLlugwy. From Betws-y-coed the river continues to flow north throughLlanrwst,Trefriw (where it is joined by theAfon Crafnant) andDolgarrog (where it is joined byAfon Porth-llwyd andAfon Ddu) before reaching Conwy Bay atConwy. A localquay, Cei Cae Gwyn, is located on its bank. Duringspringtides the river is tidal as far as Tan-lan, near Llanrwst.[citation needed]
This is a list of named tributaries of the Conwy (and their tributaries) listed from source to sea;
The Conwy is bounded to the east by the rolling ancientmudstonehills of theSilurian period, the Migneint Moors. These acid rocks are generally covered in thin, often acid soils and for large parts of theupland areas the cover is ofmoor grass –Mollinia spp andErica communities. As a result, the water entering the river tends to be acidic and often coloured brown withhumic acids.
To the west, the catchment is underlain by olderCambrian rocks which are harder and the landscape is, as a consequence, more dramatic with high craggy hills andmountains, through which the river falls in cascades andwaterfalls. Examples of torrential rivergeomorphology can be seen atConwy Falls and in the Lledr Gorge. The land to the east is highly forested with planted non-nativeconifers.
On the western side of the valley are a number of lakes andreservoirs. The rocks are also rich in minerals and there are many abandoned mine sites wherecopper,lead andsilver have been mined since Roman times.
The river valley downstream of Betws-y-coed is relatively wide and fertile, and supportsdairying andsheep rearing. In the winter, these pastures are used to nurture the sheep brought down from the mountains to avoid the worst of the winter weather.
Aber Afon Conwy is a site of special interest. It has acquired such a status due to its marine and terrestrial biology. Thetidal reach of the site is around 16 km (9.9 mi). Its upstream boundary is south of Tal y Cafn, and the whole site encompasses Conwy Bay. The shoreline is supported by natural rock, in addition to boulder clay cliff, sand dune, salt marsh and woodland.[7]
The scattered communities along the Conwy valley have ancient traditions witharcheological evidence of habitation back to theStone Age. TheRomans occupied this area up to 400 AD and there has been continuous habitation since that time. The valley is home to two of the oldest churches inWales, those atLlanrhychwyn andLlangelynnin, which respectively date back to the 11th and 12th centuries.
Much of the Conwy valley was laid waste in theWars of the Roses by theEarl of Pembroke, under the orders ofEdward IV, the Yorkist king, following a Lancastrian attack on the town ofDenbigh in 1466.
At the mouth of the Conwy as it discharges intoConwy Bay is the town of Conwy with itsWorld Heritage Sitecastle –Conwy Castle and two famous bridges. One of the earliestsuspension bridges byThomas Telford now carries a footpath whilstRobert Stephenson'stubular iron bridge still carries the mainHolyhead toLondonrailway line. A third bridge now takes road traffic, and more recently still theA55 now runs in a tunnel under theestuary.
Neither the River Conwy or its tributaries are monitored for quality byNatural Resources Wales. The river is routinely polluted by Dŵr Cymru sewage treatment plants and agricultural runoff. Algae blooms are common during the summer months. The river quality tends to be acidic in the headwaters with very low concentrations of the common anions and cations.
Natural Resources Wales monitors water levels in the valley, with a view to giving flood warnings. There are measuring stations at Betws-y-coed (Cwmlanerch),[8] Llanrwst[9] and Trefriw.[10]
The Conwy is noted for itssalmon andsea trout, although increasing acidification in the second half of the 20th century, especially in the poorly buffered upland waters has significantly impacted upon their spawning success. The construction of an artificial fish pass in the 1990s to allow migratory salmonids access to the river above Conwy falls was intended to help mitigate the effects of acidification.[11]
The Conwy Crossing, animmersed tubetunnel, was built under the estuary during the late 1980s and early 1990s.[12] It was opened by theQueen in October 1991. This resulted in the loss of some saltmarsh but also led to the creation ofConwy RSPB Reserve.
Since 2002 the valley has been overlooked by the turbines of theMoel Maeloganwind farm.
The panorama shows the mouth of the Conwy Estuary fromDeganwy Castle, the original defensive position of the area. However, problems with resupply in the event of siege and its destruction byLlywelyn ap Gruffudd,Prince of Wales in 1263 to prevent it falling into King Edward's hands, led to a new castle being built across the water in Conwy town.
{{cite web}}:Cite uses generic title (help)| Towns | |
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53°18′N3°50′W / 53.300°N 3.833°W /53.300; -3.833
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