Snowdonia in the context of "Moelwynion"

North Wales (Welsh: Gogledd Cymru [ˈɡɔɡlɛð ˈkəmrɨ]) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia National Park (Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley (Bryniau Clwyd a Dyffryn Dyfrdwy), known for its mountains, waterfalls and trails, wholly within the region. Its population is concentrated in the north-east and northern coastal areas, with significant Welsh-speaking populations in its western and rural areas. North Wales is imprecisely defined, lacking any exact definition or administrative structure. It is commonly defined administratively as its six most northern principal areas, but other definitions exist, with Montgomeryshire historically considered to be part of the region.

Those from North Wales are sometimes referred to as "Gogs" (from Welsh gogledd 'north'); in turn, those from South Wales are sometimes called "Hwntws" by those from North Wales.

A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migration throughout history. At lower elevations it may be called a hill pass. A mountain pass is typically formed between two volcanic peaks or created by erosion from water or wind.

U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight sides and a flat or rounded bottom (by contrast, valleys carved by rivers tend to be V-shaped in cross-section). Glaciated valleys are formed when a glacier travels across and down a slope, carving the valley by the action of scouring. When the ice recedes or thaws, the valley remains, often littered with small boulders that were transported within the ice, called glacial till or glacial erratic.

Examples of U-shaped valleys are found in mountainous regions throughout the world including the Andes, Alps, Caucasus Mountains, Himalaya, Rocky Mountains, New Zealand and the Scandinavian Mountains. They are found also in other major European mountains including the Carpathian Mountains, the Pyrenees, the Rila and Pirin mountains in Bulgaria, and the Scottish Highlands. A classic glacial trough is in Glacier National Park in Montana, USA in which the St. Mary River runs. Another well-known U-shaped valley is the Nant Ffrancon valley in Snowdonia, Wales.

Snowdon (/ˈsnoʊdən/), or Yr Wyddfa (Welsh: [ər ˈʊɨ̞̯ðva] ), is a mountain in Snowdonia in North Wales. It has an elevation of 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level, which makes it both the highest mountain in Wales and the highest in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands. Snowdon is designated a national nature reserve for its rare flora and fauna, and is located within Snowdonia National Park.

The rocks that form Snowdon were produced by volcanoes in the Ordovician period, and the massif has been extensively sculpted by glaciation, forming the pyramidal peak of Snowdon and the arêtes of Crib Goch and Y Lliwedd. It is part of the larger Snowdon range, which includes Garnedd Ugain, Yr Aran, and Moel Eilio. There are several lakes on the mountain, the largest of which is Llyn Lydaw (110 acres (45 ha)), located on the eastern flank at 1,430 ft (440 m).

Maesglase is a mountain in Snowdonia, North Wales, situated approximately four miles to the south-west of Aran Fawddwy. It is the highest of the Dyfi Hills.

It can be reached by an easy but steep walk through the forestry from Dinas Mawddwy or directly from the bwlch on the A470. Ascending Maesglase provides an opportunity to climb several other nearby peaks including Maen-Du, Craig Rhiw-erch, Waun-oer, Mynydd Dolgoed and Cribin Fawr which are linked by a series of ridges and arêtes.

A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word errare ("to wander"), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundreds of kilometres. Erratics can range in size from pebbles to large boulders such as Big Rock (16,500 metric tons) in Alberta.

Geologists identify erratics by studying the rocks surrounding the position of the erratic and the composition of the erratic itself. Erratics are significant because:

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.

A clapper bridge is an ancient form of bridge found on the moors of the English West Country (Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor) and in other upland areas of the United Kingdom including Snowdonia and Anglesey, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Lancashire, and in northern Wester Rossand north-west Sutherland in Scotland. It is formed by large flat slabs of stone, often granite or schist. These can be supported on stone piers across rivers, or rest on the banks of streams.

South Wales (Welsh: De Cymru [ˌdeː ˌkəmri]) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards to include Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. In the western extent, from Swansea westwards, local people would probably recognise that they lived in both south Wales and west Wales. The Brecon Beacons National Park covers about a third of south Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest British mountain south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia.

A point of some discussion is whether the first element of the name should be capitalised: 'south Wales' or 'South Wales'. As the name is a geographical expression rather than a specific area with well-defined borders, style guides such as those of the BBC and The Guardian use the form 'south Wales'. The Welsh Government, in their international gateway website, Wales.com, state that it should always be capitalised; however, they use the term to refer to a tourism marketing area which excludes the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot local authority areas (placing them in 'West Wales'). In contradiction, the style guide for the Welsh Government's main website, Gov.wales, uses 'south Wales'. It is always capitalised on motorway signs.