Waterfall on the Mawddach, 1816The Mawddach in Coed-y-Brenin
The Afon Mawddach (English: River Mawddach) is a river in Gwynedd, Wales, which has its source in a wide area SH820300 north of Dduallt in Snowdonia. It is 28 miles (45 km) in length, and is much branched; many of the significant tributaries are of a similar size to the main river. The catchment area is bounded to the east by the Aran Fawddwy massif and to the west and north by the Harlech dome which forms a watershed just south of Llyn Trawsfynydd.
The Mawddach has been the site of significant industrialisation and land management. Gold mining and subsequently gold panning have had major impacts but forestry, the preparation of animal skins, the storage of old munitions and the use of hill-sides as artillery ranges have all added to the legacy of pollution. The river is also very flashy - prone to very rapid rise and fall in level depending on rainfall. Rainfall can also be very heavy and it falls on very base-poor soils leading to episodes of strongly depressed pH. Despite this, the river sustains an important salmon and trout fishery and the countryside through which it flows is some of the most spectacular and scenic in the UK.
The main tributaries starting in the west and working clockwise are:
Afon Cwm Mynach which drains Llyn Cwm Mynach on the Rhinogydd.
Afon Gamlan which joins at Ganllwyd after following a tumultuous valley through ancient oak woods before descending towards the main river down Rhaeadr Ddu (Black waterfalls). This valley has one of the more important moss and liverwort communities in the southern UK.
Afon Eden - its headwaters known as Afon Crawcwellt - a large tributary draining from below Llyn Trawsfynydd and closely following the A470 through the Coed-y-Brenin forest. This tributary has been severely affected by industrialisation in the past, including gold mining and its use as an ordnance range.
Afon Gain, a large tributary which has also been impacted by similar problems to the Eden and is very acidic and peaty.
Afon Wen which joins south of the Gain is similar but smaller.
Afon Wnion is a major tributary joining from the east and which drains a large area out towards Aran Fawddwy
The AfonMawddach (English: River Mawddach) is a river in Gwynedd, Wales, which has its source in a wide area SH820300 north of Dduallt in Snowdonia. It...
it was renamed Morfa Mawddach. North of Morfa Mawddach the railway crosses the AfonMawddach on the Barmouth Bridge. Morfa Mawddach is mainly used by passengers...
shoreline. Pwllheli has a small harbour at the confluence of the Afon Erch and Afon Rhyd-Hir. Hafan Pwllheli is a marina built in Pwllheli Harbour during...
Barmouth Bridge crosses the estuary of the AfonMawddach between Barmouth to the north and Morfa Mawddach near Arthog on the south. It lies within both...
y Cwm, Afon Cynfal Rhaeadr Du, Afon Prysor Rhaeadr Du, Afon Gamlan Rhaeadr Mawddach, AfonMawddach Rhaeadr Ogwen, Afon Ogwen Sgwd Clun-gwyn Sgwd Ddwli...
in Gwynedd, Wales. The name is derived from the river known as the AfonMawddach. The rocks are exposed across the Harlech Dome and southern Snowdonia...
Aberdovey, Machynlleth and Shrewsbury. Between Morfa Mawddach and Barmouth the railway crosses the AfonMawddach on the Barmouth Bridge. The station (opened in...
The River Dwyryd (Welsh: Afon Dwyryd), is a river in Gwynedd, Wales which flows principally westwards; draining to the sea into Tremadog Bay, south of...
Afon Aber River Adda Afon Artro Afon Cegin Afon Cwmnantcol Afon Daron Afon Dwyfor Afon Dwyryd Afon Dysynni Afon Fathew Afon Glaslyn Afon Llyfni Afon Mawddach...
century. Two that did, and which are still in daily use, cross the AfonMawddach on the coast of Wales only a few miles apart, at Barmouth and Penmaenpool...
Afon Eden is a tributary river than runs into the AfonMawddach in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a protected river because it is one of the few breeding grounds...
was a rural community to the northwest of Bala in Gwynedd, Wales, in the Afon Tryweryn valley. The village and other parts of the valley were flooded in...
Ysgethin AfonMawddachAfon Dwynant (R) Afon Gwynant (L) Afon Cwm-llechen (R) Afon Cwm-mynach (R) Afon Wnion (L) Afon Clywedog (L) Afon Celynog (L) Afon Wen...
north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the historic county of Merionethshire...
Afon Aber River Adda Afon Artro Afon Cegin Afon Cwmnantcol Afon Daron Afon Dwyfor Afon Dwyryd Afon Dysynni Afon Fathew Afon Glaslyn Afon Llyfni Afon Mawddach...
reclaim much of Traeth Mawr from the sea for farming use. Diversion of the Afon Glaslyn caused it to scour out a new natural harbour deep enough for small...
on the west bank of the Afon Dulas (which here forms the boundary with Powys), around that river's confluence with the Afon Deri. Its railway station...
Afon Aber River Adda Afon Artro Afon Cegin Afon Cwmnantcol Afon Daron Afon Dwyfor Afon Dwyryd Afon Dysynni Afon Fathew Afon Glaslyn Afon Llyfni Afon Mawddach...
photography at Fach Farm, some 1100 metres north of the bridge over the Afon Soch, identified crop marks that were reported as a possible Roman fortlet...
Afon Aber River Adda Afon Artro Afon Cegin Afon Cwmnantcol Afon Daron Afon Dwyfor Afon Dwyryd Afon Dysynni Afon Fathew Afon Glaslyn Afon Llyfni Afon Mawddach...
formed in 1927, controls the fishing rights on 8 miles (13 km) of the Afon Dwyfor and Afon Dwyfach. Each year between 2,000 and 3,000 sea trout and 30 to 40...
Afon Aber River Adda Afon Artro Afon Cegin Afon Cwmnantcol Afon Daron Afon Dwyfor Afon Dwyryd Afon Dysynni Afon Fathew Afon Glaslyn Afon Llyfni Afon Mawddach...
outskirts of the modern town, or the Norman castle erected near the mouth of the Afon Seiont. "Arfon" means "opposite Môn (Anglesey)", and the full name therefore...
where it has its own beach. The community includes the villages of Chwilog, Afon Wen, Llanarmon, and Llangybi, plus the hamlets of Rhoslan and Pencaenewydd...
Aberdaron means "Mouth of the Daron river", a reference to the river (Welsh: Afon Daron) which flows into the sea at Aberdaron Bay (Welsh: Bae Aberdaron)....
The River Rhythallt (Welsh: Afon Rhythallt) is a river in Gwynedd, North Wales whose source is Llyn Padarn. It flows in a northwesterly direction past...
Afon Wen was a railway station in Afon Wen, Gwynedd, Wales, four miles (6 km) west of Criccieth. The station formed a junction between the Aberystwith...
Afon Aber River Adda Afon Artro Afon Cegin Afon Cwmnantcol Afon Daron Afon Dwyfor Afon Dwyryd Afon Dysynni Afon Fathew Afon Glaslyn Afon Llyfni Afon Mawddach...
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