Benbaun

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Irish English Template:Infobox mountain Benbaun (Template:Langx, meaning 'white peak') is a mountain in County Galway, Ireland. With a height of , it is the 72nd highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 88th highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. Benbaun is situated at the centre of the core massif of the Twelve Bens mountain range in the Connemara National Park and is the tallest mountain of the Twelve Bens range, and the county top for Galway.

Naming

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

Geography

Benbaun is the highest mountain of the Twelve Bens range, which is situated in the Connemara National Park in west County 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 of Benfree (Template:Langx, meaning 'peak of the heather') , Muckanaght (Template:Langx, meaning 'hill like a pig') , and Bencullagh (Template:Langx, meaning 'peak of the hag/witch') , and the minor Ben of Maumonght (Template:Langx, meaning 'pass of the breast or ridge') , and its subsidiary peak of Maumonght SW Top . To the east is a long flat 3.5-kilometre ridge at the end of which lies the minor Ben of Knockpasheemore (Template:Langx, meaning 'rocky peak') to the far eastern end.

A deep col to the south, known as Maumina (Template:Langx), connects Benbaun to the summit of Bencollaghduff , and to the southern Bens of the "Glencoaghan Horseshoe" which forms around the Glencoaghan River.

Another deep col to the north, known as Maumnascalpa connects Benfree and Muckanaght to the northern Ben of Benbrack , which sits on its own small massif with the subsidiary peaks of Knockbrack , and another peak named Benbaun, at .

Benbaun sits at the apex of two major glaciated U-shaped valleys. To the east is the Gleninagh Valley (Template:Langx), 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" (Template:Langx), 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. To the south-west is the large valley of the Owenglin river which is bounded by several major Bens on each of its sides.

Benbaun's prominence of qualifies it as a P600, and a Marilyn, and it also ranks it as the 41st-highest mountain in Ireland on the MountainViews Online Database, 100 Highest Irish Mountains, where the minimum prominence threshold is 100 metres.

Hill walking

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.

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

Gallery

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

See also

• 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

External links

• 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 the DoBIH