- River Ogwen
The River Ogwen ("Afon Ogwen" in Welsh) is a
river inNorth Wales draining from some of the greatest peaks inSnowdonia before discharging to the sea on the eastern side of Bangor,Wales .Source
The source of the Ogwen is in
Llyn Ogwen , which can be seen alongside theA5 road as it starts to descend throughSnowdonia . However, the true source of the river lies in the three streams draining into Llyn Ogwen. These are Nant Gwern y Gof, Afon Denau, and Afon Lloer which itself has its source in the uplandlake ,Ffynnon Lloer .Waterfalls
The River Ogwen emerging at the western end of Llyn Ogwen immediately descends cataracts and
waterfall s known asOgwen falls before continuing in a north-north-westerly direction down the glaciated Nant Ffrancon valley.Re-Engineered
In the 1950s and 1960s, this stretch of the river was re-engineered to try to help drain the adjoining farmland. However, the beneficial effects were not significant and the ecological damage was great. In the 1990s, the
Environment Agency , working with partners including theCountryside Council for Wales and farming groups, re-engineered the river to recreate pools and riffles with the intention of allowing the river to re-gain its original form anddiversity of wildlife.As the river continues northwards, it passes close to the great waste tips of
slate produced by the Penrhyn slate quarry and then past a caravan site where the remains of a long abandonedwatermill andmill pond still exist. PassingBraichmelyn village on its eastern bank, it is joined by the substantialtributary , the Afon Caseg, which drains a large area of theCarneddau mountain s. The course turns slightly more westwards as the river passes through Bethesda and becomes progressively more wooded and more deeply cut providing somewhite water conditions enjoyed bycanoe ists.The widening river then follows an abandoned railway line (now a pleasant cycle path) through a
woodland valley crossing under the main north Wales coast line and the A55 before discharging to theMenai Straits atAberogwen near Bangor.External links
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2796700 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of the River Ogwen]
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