River Afan
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River Afan Afon Afan |
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 View from the aqueduct to the old railway bridge over the Afan River near Pontrhydyfen |
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| Data | ||
| location | Wales | |
| River system | River Afan | |
| source | at Blaengwynfi 51 ° 38 ′ 42 " N , 3 ° 34 ′ 2" W. |
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| Source height | 498 m | |
| muzzle | at Aberavon in the Swansea Bay coordinates: 51 ° 34 '59 " N , 3 ° 48' 12" W 51 ° 34 '59 " N , 3 ° 48' 12" W. |
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| Mouth height | 0 m | |
| Height difference | 498 m | |
| Bottom slope | 26 ‰ | |
| length | 19 km | |
| Left tributaries | Ffrwdwyllt | |
| Right tributaries | Afan Corrwg; Pelenna River | |
| Medium-sized cities | Port Talbot | |
| Small towns | Cwmafan | |
| Ports | Port Talbot | |
The River Afan ( Welsh Afon Afan , English also River Avon ) is a river in Wales . It flows mainly through the hill country of Neath Port Talbot and flows into Swansea Bay at Port Talbot . Its river valley is one of the South Wales Valleys .
geography
The origin of the river is given differently. The River Gwynfi rises southwest of Blaengwynfi at the end of a valley , which is also known as Afan. The Gwynfi or Afan initially flows northwest until it flows in a southwest direction from Blaengwynfi . At Cymmer (Welsh for confluence) the Afan Corrwg flows on the right side , only through this confluence the River Afan arises according to various sources. The Afan continues to flow through a narrow, steeply cut river valley known as the Afan Valley (Welsh Cwm Afan) and dominated to the northwest by the Y Foel hills and the 258 m high Mynydd Dinas . In contrast to most of the other valleys in South Wales, there are no large settlements in the Afan Valley, but rather a number of small settlements spread across the narrow valley, including Pontrhydyfen , Cynonville and Duffryn . In the upper river valley these are mainly on the left and later also on the right bank of the river. At Pontrhydyfen the Pelenna River flows in from the right . The industrial settlement of Cwmavon is located on the right bank of the lower reaches . Just before the mouth, the river is crossed by the M4 motorway, then it flows through the town of Port Talbot and flows into the sea in the Aberavon district . Shortly before the canalised estuary is the port of Port Talbot on the left bank, the river Ffrwdwyllt flows into the port basin .
history
In the Middle Ages, the Cwm Afan was the center of the small Welsh rule of Afan , which was ruled by a Welsh dynasty until the mid-14th century after the English conquest . Coal was already being mined in the region in the Middle Ages, and the first ironworks already existed in 1717. From 1770 a strong industrialization of the region began, for which the new port of Port Talbot was built from 1834. In the mountains around the lower river valley copper mining was carried out until the 19th century, the last coal mine closed in 1968. Port Talbot is still a center of the British steel industry. Numerous places in the upper river valley such as Abergwynfi and Blaengwynfi emerged as mining settlements in the 19th century. The South Wales Miners Museum near Cymmer , which opened in 1976, is reminiscent of mining . The valley was converted into a country park from 1972.
environment
Centuries-long mining and the intensive copper, steel and chemical industries around Port Talbot led to massive pollution of the river and environmental damage in the entire region. For many years, the vegetation of the hills along the lower river valley was largely destroyed by the pollution. The overburden from mining in the lower river valley was largely deposited in heaps in the upper river valley.
From the 1970s, large parts of the valley were recultivated and have been used for recreational purposes ever since. The area originally called Afan Argoed Country Park was later renamed Afan Forrest Park and is used for local recreation. The park has a visitor center, numerous hiking, cycling and mountain bike trails lead through the densely wooded park area along closed mines and abandoned railway lines. Because of its trout, the river is once again a fishing spot.
traffic
In the mid-19th century, a railway line, the South Wales Mineral Railway , was built through the Afan Valley to transport coal from the mines to Port Talbot. The railway line was connected to the railway lines in the adjacent valleys by two tunnels, including a three-kilometer tunnel to the Rhondda Fawr . In the 20th century the railway line lost its importance. In 1963, rail traffic was stopped and most of the line was dismantled, the rail tunnels have been closed since then. In Pontrhydyfen two powerful 19th-century bridges cross the river, a Red Bridge -called railway viaduct and a former aqueduct , the Y Bont Fawr is (Welsh for large bridge) called. Both bridges are now used as pedestrian and bicycle bridges.
The A4107, the Afan Valley Road , leads through the valley, from which the B4287 branches off to Neath at Pontrhydyfen . The Afan Valley Road continues over the hills at the end of the valley into the Rhondda Valley.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Natural Resources Wales: Afan Forest Park Visitor Center, near Port Talbot. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 10, 2015 ; accessed on August 2, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Friends of the Afan: History. Retrieved August 2, 2015 .
- ^ Afan Forest Park. Retrieved August 2, 2015 .
- ^ Afan Valley Angling Club. Retrieved August 2, 2015 .
