Galtee Mountains
| Galtee Mountains Na Gaibhlte |
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|---|---|---|
 The Galtees as seen from the M8, east of Mitchelstown |
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| Highest peak | Galtymore ( 919 m ASL ) | |
| location | Ireland | |
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| Coordinates | 52 ° 22 ′ N , 8 ° 9 ′ W | |
| rock | Sandstone | |
The Galtee Mountains (also Galty Mountains or Galtees , Irish : Na Gaibhlte ) are a mountain range in Ireland .
The mountains stretch across parts of Limerick , Tipperary and Cork counties in the Munster province .
The name Galtee is probably a corruption of the original Sléibhte na gCoillte ("Mountains of the Forests"), an older name for mountains in Irish.
The Galtee Mountains are Ireland's highest inland mountain range in the shape of a high ridge running roughly from west to east. The mountains rise almost vertically from the surrounding plain, the so-called Golden Vale (Irish: Machaire na Mumhan ).
Especially to the north towards the Glen of Aherlow , the mountains drop off quite steeply.
The highest peak is the Galtymore (or Galteemore , Irish: Gaibhlte Mór or Cnoc Mór na nGaibhlte ) with 919 m. It is on the border of Counties Limerick and Tipperary.
Other elevations larger than 700 m are:
- Lyracappul (ir. Ladhar an Chapaill , 825 m),
- Carrignabinnia (Irish Carraig na Binne , 822 m),
- Greenane (ir. An Grianán , 802 m),
- Galtybeg ( ir.Gaibhlte Beag , 799 m),
- Temple Hill ( ir.Cnoc an Teampaill , 785 m),
- Greenane West (ir. An Grianán Thiar , 786 m),
- Slievecushnabinnia ( ir.Sliabh Chois na Binne , 766 m).
Dairy farming is traditional in the Galtees area. Mitchelstown , nestled on the Cork side of the range, and Tipperary on the north side and Cahir in the east, are the most important cities and economic centers for the region.
geology
The Galtees were formed during the Caledonian Folding after the unification of the geological continents Avalonia , Baltica and Laurentia to Laurussia . The original, soft Silurian rock eroded and the resulting sand compacted over several million years to form hard old-red sandstone , which forms the outer layer of the mountains. The core of the Silurian was preserved inside.
Two major periods of the Ice Age affected the area. The rounded peaks of the Galtees formed over the ice. The constant freeze-thaw alternation led to today's stony, rubble-covered peaks. Glaciers formed basins on higher slopes (so-called Kare , in Ireland called Corries ), in which there are five cirque lakes . a. Lough Curra ( Loch Curra ) and Lough Bohreen ( Loch Bóithrín ) in the vicinity of Galteemore and Lough Muskry ( Loch Mhúscraí ) below the Greenane.
