Cadair Idris
Encyclopedia
Cadair Idris or Cader Idris is a mountain
in Gwynedd
, Wales
that lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park. The peak, which is one of the most popular in Wales for walkers and hikers
, is composed largely of Ordovician
igneous rock
s, with classic glacial erosion features such as cwms
, moraine
s, striated rocks
, and roches moutonnées
.
) is in reference to a giant
of Welsh mythology
who was said to have used Llyn Cau
as an enormous armchair
to gaze at the stars. The spelling Cader Idris is also found in both Welsh and English, as reflected in the local name of the local secondary school, Ysgol y Gader (never Ysgol y Gadair). Although cader is not incorrect, Cadair Idris is the form used on current maps in reflection of modern standardised Welsh spelling
.
An alternative theory is that a 7th-century Meirionnydd
prince Idris ap Gwyddno (or Gweiddno) won a battle against the Irish on the mountain. Cadr is the Welsh word for stronghold which sounds similar to the Welsh word for chair cadair. Cad is also a prefix that relates to battle. Cadr Idris may have been the stronghold of Idris ap Gwyddno.
The entire mountain is called Cader Idris but its summit
is known as Penygader (top of the chair).
, is marked by a trig point. There is also a low-standing stone shelter with a roof.
or the Mawddach estuary, is the easiest but the longest of the main trails. Its length from the mountain's base is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) with a 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) climb.
-scree
face. However this part of the Fox's Path has been heavily eroded in recent years making the descent dangerous.
. Hikers using this ascent climb past Llyn Cau and along the rim of Craig Cau (rockwall) to Penygadair. Its length is 4.4 kilometres (2.7 mi) and involves two climbs of over 300 metres (984.3 ft).
The crater-like shape of Llyn Cau has given rise to the occasional mistaken claim that Cadair Idris is an extinct volcano. This theory was discounted as early as 1872, when Charles Kingsley
commented in his book Town Geology :
The natural bowl-shaped depression was formed by a cirque glacier
during the last ice age when snow and ice accumulated in the corries due to avalanche
s on higher slopes. In these depressions, snow persisted through summer months, and becomes glacial ice. The cirque was up to a square kilometre in size surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. The highest cliff was the headwall. The fourth side was the "lip" from which the glacier flowed away from the cirque. Over thousands of years ice flowed out through the bowl's opening carving the chair of Caldair Idris.
As the glacier eroded the lip down to the bedrock, there are several tear-drop shaped hills above the edge of Lyn Cau. These geologically-important rocky outcrops are called roche moutonnée
(sheep-like rock) and were formed from the abrasive
action of the ice.
Much of the area around Cadair Idris was designated a National Nature Reserve
in 1957, and is home to arctic-alpine
plants such as purple saxifrage
and dwarf willow
.
There are numerous legends about Cadair Idris. Some nearby lakes are supposed to be bottomless, and anyone who sleeps on its slopes alone, will supposedly awaken either a madman or a poet. This tradition (of sleeping on the summit of the Mountain) apparently stems from bardic traditions, where bards would sleep on the mountain in hope of inspiration.
The mountain's name refers to the mythological giant Idris
(Idris Gawr) who was said to have been skilled in poetry, astronomy and philosophy. The name has sometimes been mistranslated by some popular authors as Arthur's Seat, in reference to King Arthur
(and to the hill of the same name in Edinburgh
), an idea used by author Susan Cooper
in her book The Grey King
. However, this is a modern invention and there is no etymological or traditional connection between Idris and Arthur.
In Welsh mythology, Cadair Idris is also said to be one of the hunting grounds of Gwyn ap Nudd
and his Cŵn Annwn
. The howling of these huge dogs foretold death to anyone who heard them, the pack sweeping up that person's soul and herding it into the underworld
.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
that lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park. The peak, which is one of the most popular in Wales for walkers and hikers
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, is composed largely of Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
igneous rock
Igneous rock
Igneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...
s, with classic glacial erosion features such as cwms
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
, moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
s, striated rocks
Glacial striations
Glacial striations or glacial grooves are scratches or gouges cut into bedrock by process of glacial abrasion. Glacial striations usually occur as multiple straight, parallel grooves representing the movement of the sediment-loaded base of the glacier...
, and roches moutonnées
Roche moutonnée
In glaciology, a roche moutonnée is a rock formation created by the passing of a glacier. When a glacier erodes down to bedrock, it can form tear-drop shaped hills that taper in the up-ice direction.-Name:...
.
Names
The name of the mountain has several theories. The most well known is that Cadair Idris (the chair of IdrisIdris (giant)
Idris, King of Meirionnydd , also known as Idris Fawr , was a giant and astronomer of Welsh tradition, whose rock-hewn chair on the summit of Cadair Idris was supposed to mete out death, madness, or poetic inspiration to whoever spent a night upon it....
) is in reference to a giant
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
of Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin....
who was said to have used Llyn Cau
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
as an enormous armchair
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
to gaze at the stars. The spelling Cader Idris is also found in both Welsh and English, as reflected in the local name of the local secondary school, Ysgol y Gader (never Ysgol y Gadair). Although cader is not incorrect, Cadair Idris is the form used on current maps in reflection of modern standardised Welsh spelling
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
.
An alternative theory is that a 7th-century Meirionnydd
Meirionnydd
Meirionnydd is a coastal and mountainous region of Wales. It has been a kingdom, a cantref, a district and, as Merionethshire, a county.-Kingdom:...
prince Idris ap Gwyddno (or Gweiddno) won a battle against the Irish on the mountain. Cadr is the Welsh word for stronghold which sounds similar to the Welsh word for chair cadair. Cad is also a prefix that relates to battle. Cadr Idris may have been the stronghold of Idris ap Gwyddno.
The entire mountain is called Cader Idris but its summit
Summit (topography)
In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...
is known as Penygader (top of the chair).
Ascent
There are three main trails that lead to the top of Cadair Idris. The summit, which is covered in screeScree
Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...
, is marked by a trig point. There is also a low-standing stone shelter with a roof.
Pony Path
This route, which begins in the north from either DolgellauDolgellau
Dolgellau is a market town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the county town of the former county of Merionethshire .-History and economy:...
or the Mawddach estuary, is the easiest but the longest of the main trails. Its length from the mountain's base is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) with a 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) climb.
Fox's Path
This is the most direct way to the summit as the trail leads straight up the northern face. The 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi) ascent involves a climb up a 310 metres (1,017.1 ft) cliffCliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
-scree
Scree
Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...
face. However this part of the Fox's Path has been heavily eroded in recent years making the descent dangerous.
Minffordd Path
This route starts on the southern side of the mountain near the glacial Tal-y-llyn LakeTal-y-llyn Lake
Tal-y-llyn Lake, also known as Talyllyn Lake or Llyn Mwyngil, is a large glacial ribbon lake formed by a post-glacial massive landslip damming up the lake within the glaciated valley...
. Hikers using this ascent climb past Llyn Cau and along the rim of Craig Cau (rockwall) to Penygadair. Its length is 4.4 kilometres (2.7 mi) and involves two climbs of over 300 metres (984.3 ft).
Geology
Charles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
commented in his book Town Geology :
The natural bowl-shaped depression was formed by a cirque glacier
Cirque glacier
A cirque glacier is formed in a cirque, bowl-shaped depressions on the side of or near mountains. Snow and ice accumulation in corries often occurs as the result of avalanching from higher surrounding slopes....
during the last ice age when snow and ice accumulated in the corries due to avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
s on higher slopes. In these depressions, snow persisted through summer months, and becomes glacial ice. The cirque was up to a square kilometre in size surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. The highest cliff was the headwall. The fourth side was the "lip" from which the glacier flowed away from the cirque. Over thousands of years ice flowed out through the bowl's opening carving the chair of Caldair Idris.
As the glacier eroded the lip down to the bedrock, there are several tear-drop shaped hills above the edge of Lyn Cau. These geologically-important rocky outcrops are called roche moutonnée
Roche moutonnée
In glaciology, a roche moutonnée is a rock formation created by the passing of a glacier. When a glacier erodes down to bedrock, it can form tear-drop shaped hills that taper in the up-ice direction.-Name:...
(sheep-like rock) and were formed from the abrasive
Abrasion (geology)
Abrasion is the mechanical scraping of a rock surface by friction between rocks and moving particles during their transport by wind, glacier, waves, gravity, running water or erosion. After friction, the moving particles dislodge loose and weak debris from the side of the rock...
action of the ice.
Much of the area around Cadair Idris was designated a National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserve
For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...
in 1957, and is home to arctic-alpine
Arctic-alpine
An arctic-alpine taxon is one whose natural distribution includes the Arctic and more southerly mountain ranges, particularly the Alps. The presence of identical or similar taxa in both the tundra of the far north, and high mountain ranges much further south is testament to the similar...
plants such as purple saxifrage
Purple Saxifrage
Saxifraga oppositifolia, the purple saxifrage or purple mountain saxifrage, is a species of edible plant that is very common all over the high Arctic and also some high mountainous areas further south, including northern Britain, the Alps and the Rocky Mountains...
and dwarf willow
Dwarf Willow
Salix herbacea is a species of tiny creeping willow adapted to survive in harsh Arctic and sub-Arctic environments...
.
Myths and legends
The mountain's name refers to the mythological giant Idris
Idris (giant)
Idris, King of Meirionnydd , also known as Idris Fawr , was a giant and astronomer of Welsh tradition, whose rock-hewn chair on the summit of Cadair Idris was supposed to mete out death, madness, or poetic inspiration to whoever spent a night upon it....
(Idris Gawr) who was said to have been skilled in poetry, astronomy and philosophy. The name has sometimes been mistranslated by some popular authors as Arthur's Seat, in reference to King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
(and to the hill of the same name in Edinburgh
Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh
Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design". It is situated in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle...
), an idea used by author Susan Cooper
Susan Cooper
Susan Mary Cooper is an English author best known for The Dark Is Rising, an award-winning five-volume saga set in and around England and Wales. The books incorporate traditional British mythology, such as Arthurian and other Welsh elements with original material ; these books were adapted into a...
in her book The Grey King
The Grey King
The Grey King is a children's fantasy novel by British author Susan Cooper, which was awarded the Newbery Medal for excellence in U.S. children's literature in 1976. It is the fourth of five stories in her young adult Arthurian fantasy cycle, The Dark Is Rising...
. However, this is a modern invention and there is no etymological or traditional connection between Idris and Arthur.
In Welsh mythology, Cadair Idris is also said to be one of the hunting grounds of Gwyn ap Nudd
Gwyn ap Nudd
Gwyn ap Nudd is a Welsh mythological figure, the king of the Tylwyth Teg or "fair folk" and ruler of the Welsh Otherworld, Annwn. Described as a great warrior with a "blackened face", Gwyn is intimately associated with the otherworld in medieval Welsh literature, and is associated with the...
and his Cŵn Annwn
Cwn Annwn
In Welsh mythology and folklore, Cŵn Annwn were the spectral hounds of Annwn, the otherworld of Welsh myth. They were associated with a form of the Wild Hunt, presided over by Gwynn ap Nudd...
. The howling of these huge dogs foretold death to anyone who heard them, the pack sweeping up that person's soul and herding it into the underworld
Annwn
Annwn or Annwfn was the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwyn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant. It later became Christianised and identified with the land of souls that had departed...
.
External links
- Computer generated summit panoramas North South index
- A description of and guide to climbing Cadair Idris from h2g2
- www.geograph.co.uk : photos of and from Cadair Idris
