Gwynedd in the context of Boulder clay

A menhir (/ˈmɛnhɪər/; from Brittonic languages: maen or men, "stone" and hir or hîr, "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found individually as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Menhirs' size can vary considerably, but they often taper toward the top.

Menhirs are found across Europe, Africa, and Asia, with a concentration in Western Europe, notably in Ireland, Great Britain, and Brittany. Theories concerning their purpose remain speculative, with hypotheses ranging from druidic rituals to territorial markers or elements of an ideological system. Some menhirs feature engravings, including anthropomorphic figures and symbols, and are often associated with ancient religious ceremonies and burial chambers.

Anglesey (/ˈæŋɡəlsi/ ANG-gəl-see; Welsh: Ynys Môn [ˈənɨs ˈmoːn]) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island (Ynys Gybi) and some islets and skerries. The county borders Gwynedd across the Menai Strait to the southeast, and is otherwise surrounded by the Irish Sea. Holyhead is the largest town, and the administrative centre is Llangefni.

The Isle of Anglesey has an area of 275 square miles (712 km) and had a population of 69,097 in 2024. After Holyhead, located on Holy Island, the largest settlements are Llangefni in the centre of Anglesey and Amlwch on the northern coast. The economy of the county is mostly based on agriculture, energy, and tourism, the latter especially on the coast. Holyhead is also a major ferry port for Dublin, Ireland. The county has the second-highest percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales, at 57.2%, and is considered a heartland of the language. The Isle of Anglesey is part of the preserved county of Gwynedd.

The Ffestiniog Power Station (Welsh pronunciation) is a 360-megawatt (MW) pumped-storage hydroelectricity scheme near Ffestiniog, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The power station at the lower reservoir has four water turbines, which can generate at full capacity within 60 seconds of the need arising. The scheme has a storage capacity of around 1.44 GWh (5.2 TJ) at maximum output for four hours, and the capacity to power the whole of North Wales for several hours.

The station, commissioned in 1963, was the first major pumped storage system in the UK. The upper reservoir is Llyn Stwlan, 170,000 cubic metres (6,000,000 cu ft), which discharges 27 cubic metres per second (950 cu ft/s) of water to the turbine generators at the power station on the bank of Tanygrisiau reservoir. The building of the lower reservoir increased the size of Llyn Ystradau and flooded the route of the Ffestiniog Railway which had to build a deviation around the reservoir and power station.

Segontium (Old Welsh: Cair Segeint) is a Roman fort on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales.

Blaenau Ffestiniog (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈbleɨ̯naɨ̯ fɛstˈɪnjɔɡ]) is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies heavily on tourism, drawn to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,000 at the peak development of the slate industry, but fell with the decline in demand for slate. The population of the community, including the nearby village Llan Ffestiniog, was 4,875 at the 2011 census: the fourth most populous in Gwynedd after Bangor, Caernarfon and Llandeiniolen. The population, not including Llan, is now only about 4,000.

Mid Wales (Welsh: Canolbarth Cymru or simply Y Canolbarth, meaning "the midlands"), or Central Wales, is a region of Wales, encompassing its midlands, in-between North Wales and South Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the Senedd covered the unitary authority areas of Ceredigion and Powys and the area of Gwynedd that had previously been the district of Meirionnydd. A similar definition is used by the BBC. The Wales Spatial Plan defines a region known as "Central Wales" which covers Ceredigion and Powys.

Mid Wales is dominated by the Cambrian Mountains, including the Green Desert of Wales. The region is sparsely populated, with an economy dependent on farming and small businesses.

Snowdonia, or Eryri (Welsh: [ɛrəri] ), is a mountainous region and national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), which is 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) tall. These peaks are all part of the Snowdon, Glyderau, and Carneddau ranges in the north of the region. The lower Moelwynion and Moel Hebog ranges lie immediately to the south.

The national park has an area of 823 square miles (2,130 km) (the fourth-largest in the UK), and covers most of central and southern Gwynedd and the western part of Conwy County Borough. This is much larger than the area traditionally considered Snowdonia, and in addition to the five ranges above includes the Rhinogydd, Cadair Idris, and Aran ranges and the Dyfi Hills. It also includes most of the coast between Porthmadog and Aberdyfi. The park was the first of the three national parks of Wales to be designated, in October 1951, and the third in the UK after the Peak District and Lake District, which were established in April and May 1951 respectively. The park received 3.89 million visitors in 2015.

North East Wales (Welsh: Gogledd-Ddwyrain Cymru) is an area or region of Wales, commonly defined as a grouping of the principal areas of Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Wrexham County Borough in the north-east of the country. These principal areas comprise most (excluding Colwyn, and parts of Glyndŵr) of the former administrative county of Clwyd. It is bordered by Conwy, and Gwynedd, in North West Wales to the west, Powys, in Mid Wales to the south, the English counties of Cheshire, and Shropshire to the east, and the Irish Sea, and Dee estuary to the north. It is the more urban, densely populated, and industrial part of the north Wales geographic region, centred on the city of Wrexham and the towns of Rhyl and Prestatyn, and the conurbation of Deeside. The region's close links with North West England in general and Merseyside in particular (together as the "Mersey-Dee" economic sub-region) are crucial to the region's economy.

The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is located in the region. Other attractions include historical buildings such as Chirk Castle, and Erddig in Wrexham, valley towns such as Corwen and Llangollen, and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site.

North West Wales (Welsh: Gogledd-Orllewin Cymru) is an area or region of Wales, commonly defined as a grouping of the principal areas of Conwy County Borough, Gwynedd and the Isle of Anglesey in the north-west of the country. These principal areas make up the entire preserved county of Gwynedd, and parts of Clwyd. It is bordered by Denbighshire, in North East Wales to the east, Powys, and Ceredigion in Mid Wales to the south, and the Irish sea to the north and west (as Cardigan Bay). It is the more mountainous, rural, and sparsely populated part of the north Wales geographic region.

Settlements include: Bangor, Caernarfon, Colwyn Bay, Holyhead, Llandudno, and Pwllheli. The port of Holyhead serves as the major sea link between Wales and Ireland. Snowdonia National Park is located wholly in the area, hosting Snowdon, the largest peak in British Isles excluding the Scottish Highlands. The area also hosts AONBs (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in the Llŷn Peninsula and Isle of Anglesey, and the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The White Book of Rhydderch (Welsh: Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch, National Library of Wales, Peniarth MS 4-5) is one of the most notable and celebrated surviving manuscripts in Welsh. Mostly written in southwest Wales in the middle of the 14th century (c. 1350) it is the earliest collection of Welsh prose texts, though it also contains some examples of early Welsh poetry. It is now part of the collection of the National Library of Wales, having been preserved in the library at Hengwrt, near Dolgellau, Gwynedd, of the 17th century antiquary Robert Vaughan, who inherited it from the calligrapher John Jones and passed it to his descendants. The collection later passed to the newly established National Library of Wales as the Peniarth or Hengwrt-Peniarth Manuscripts.

What was one manuscript was divided into two in the medieval period and has been bound as two separate volumes, known as Peniarth MS 4 and Peniarth MS 5. Peniarth MS 4 contains the most important material: medieval Welsh tales now collectively known as the Mabinogion. Peniarth MS 5 (the first part of the original manuscript) contains Christian religious texts in Welsh, mostly translated from Latin and French, including Lives of various saints and a tale of Charlemagne.

Aber Falls (Welsh: Rhaeadr Fawr, lit. 'big waterfall') is a waterfall located about two miles (3 km) south of the village of Abergwyngregyn, Gwynedd, Wales.

The waterfall is formed as the Afon Goch plunges about 120 feet (37 m) over a sill of igneous rock in the foothills of the Carneddau range. Two tributaries merge; the enlarged stream is known as Afon Rhaeadr Fawr; from the road bridge, Bont Newydd ("New Bridge"), the name becomes Afon Aber.

Llanystumdwy (Welsh pronunciation: [ɬanəstɪmdʊɨ̯]) is a predominantly Welsh-speaking village, community and electoral ward in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd in Wales. The village lies on the southern coast of the Llŷn Peninsula, with a beach facing Cardigan Bay, between Criccieth and Pwllheli at the point where the A497 road crosses the Afon Dwyfor.

The community and ward includes the villages of Chwilog, Afon Wen, Llanarmon, and Llangybi, plus the hamlets of Rhoslan and Pencaenewydd. It is represented by a county councillor on Gwynedd Council, and had a population of 1,919 in 2021. Historically it was part of Caernarfonshire, until the creation of Gwynedd in 1974.

Llandudno (/lænˈdɪdnoʊ/, Welsh: [ɬanˈdɨdnɔ] ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigside, Glanwydden, Penrhynside, and Bryn Pydew – had a population of 19,700 (rounded to the nearest 100). The town's name means "Church of Saint Tudno".

Llandudno is a major seaside resort in Wales, and as early as 1861 was being called 'the Queen of the Welsh Watering Places' (a phrase later also used in connection with Tenby and Aberystwyth; the word 'resort' came a little later). Historically a part of Caernarfonshire, Llandudno was formerly in the district of Aberconwy within Gwynedd until 1996.

Powys (/ˈpoʊɪs, ˈpaʊɪs/ POH-iss, POW-iss, Welsh: [ˈpou̯ɪs]) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire and Wrexham to the north; the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire to the east; Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Neath Port Talbot to the south; and Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion to the west. The largest settlement is Newtown, and the administrative centre is Llandrindod Wells.

Powys is the largest and most sparsely populated county in Wales, having an area of 5,181 km (2,000 sq mi) and a population of 135,059 in 2024. While largely rural, its towns include Welshpool in the north-east, Newtown in the north-centre, Llandrindod Wells in the south-centre, Brecon in the south, Ystradgynlais in the far south-west, and Machynlleth in the far west. The Welsh language can be spoken by 16.4% of the population. The boundaries of Powys largely follow those of the historic counties of Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire, and Brecknockshire.

Crib Goch is a knife-edged arête in the Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, Wales. The name means "red ridge" in Welsh.

The highest point on the arête is 923 metres (3,028 ft) above sea level. All routes which tackle Crib Goch are considered mountaineering routes in winter or scrambles in summer—meaning that they must cross "graded territory" as defined in Steve Ashton's Scrambles in Snowdonia. The easiest of these lines (the ‘bad step’ part of the route) is given a scrambling grade of Grade 1 (the most difficult being Grade 3—routes more difficult than Grade 3 are considered rock climbs).

The Ring of Iron (Welsh: Gylch Haearn) or Iron Ring of Castles was a chain of fortifications and castles built across Wales at Edward I's command after the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282 and the subsequent Conquest of Wales by Edward I of England. Edward spent over £80,000 on all of the castles, with £20,000 being incurred just by Rhuddlan Castle, Aberystwyth Castle, Flint Castle, and Builth Castle.

The purpose of building the iron ring of castles was to control the native Welsh population, particularly in Gwynedd, which had been the main focus of resistance to the English crown for centuries. The jewel in the crown of the Iron Ring was Caernarfon Castle, which Edward intended to be his seat in Gwynedd and where he arranged for his son Edward II to be born.