River Conwy

Conwy Welsh:Afon Conwy
Boats in the river estuary atConwy
Location
Country	Wales
District	County Borough of Conwy
City	Conwy
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Migneintmoor where a number of small streams flow intoLlyn Conwy,Gwynedd
Mouth	Conwy estuary
• location	Irish Sea,Wales
Length	55 km (34 mi)
Discharge
• location	Cwm Llanerch
• average	18.59 m3/s (656 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Machno,Lledr,Llugwy,Crafnant

TheRiver Conwy(Welsh pronunciation:[ˈkɔnʊɨ];Welsh:Afon Conwy) is ariverinnorth Wales.From its source to its discharge inConwy Bayit is 55 kilometres (34 mi) long and drains an area of 678 square km."Conwy" was formerlyanglicisedas "Conway."

The name 'Conwy' derives from the old Welsh wordscyn(chief) andgwy(water), the river being originally called the 'Cynwy'.

It rises on theMigneintmoor where a number of smallstreamsflow intoLlyn Conwy,then flows in a generally northern direction, being joined by thetributariesof the riversMachnoandAfon Lledrbefore reachingBetws-y-coed,where it is also joined byLlugwy.From Betws-y-coed the river continues to flow north throughLlanrwst,Trefriw(where it is joined by theAfon Crafnant) andDolgarrog(where it is joined byAfon Porth-llwydandAfon Ddu) before reaching Conwy Bay atConwy.A localquay,Cei Cae Gwyn, is located on its bank. Duringspringtidesthe river is tidal as far as Tan-lan, near Llanrwst.

Tributaries of the River Conwy

This is a list of named tributaries of the Conwy (and their tributaries) listed from source to sea;

• River Machnoat Conwy Falls
• Afon Lledrnear Betws-y-coed
• River Llugwyat Betws-y-coed
• Afon Gallt y Gwg
• Nant y Goronat Llanrwst
• Afon Crafnant&Fairy Fallsat Trefriw
  • River Geirionydd
• Afon Ddu (1)at Dolgarrog
• Afon Porth-llwydat Dolgarrog
• Afon Dulynat Tal-y-bont
  • Afon Ddu (2)
  • Afon Garreg-wen
  • Ffrwd Cerriguniawn
  • Afon Melynllyn
• Afon Hiraethlynnear Tal-y-cafn
• Afon Roenear Llanbedr-y-Cennin
  • Afon Tafolog
• Afon Gyffinat Conwy

Geology and geomorphology

Llyn Conwy, the source of the River Conwy

The Conwy is bounded to the east by the rolling ancientmudstonehillsof theSilurianperiod, the Migneint Moors. These acid rocks are generally covered in thin, often acid soils and for large parts of theuplandareas the cover is ofmoor grass–Mollinia sppandEricacommunities. As a result, the water entering the river tends to be acidic and often coloured brown withhumic acids.

To the west, the catchment is underlain by olderCambrianrocks which are harder and the landscape is, as a consequence, more dramatic with high craggy hills andmountains,through which the river falls in cascades andwaterfalls.Examples of torrential rivergeomorphologycan be seen atConwy Fallsand in the Lledr Gorge. The land to the east is highly forested with planted non-nativeconifers.

On the western side of the valley are a number of lakes andreservoirs.The rocks are also rich in minerals and there are many abandoned mine sites wherecopper,leadandsilverhave been mined since Roman times.

The river valley downstream of Betws-y-coed is relatively wide and fertile, and supportsdairyingandsheeprearing. In the winter, these pastures are used to nurture the sheep brought down from the mountains to avoid the worst of the winter weather.

River Conwy nearDolgarrog

SSSI

Aber Afon Conwy is a site of special interest. It has acquired such a status due to its marine and terrestrial biology. Thetidal reachof the site is around 16 km (9.9 mi). Its upstream boundary is south of Tal y Cafn, and the whole site encompasses Conwy Bay. The shoreline is supported by natural rock, in addition to boulder clay cliff, sand dune, salt marsh and woodland.

Culture and history

The scattered communities along the Conwy valley have ancient traditions witharcheologicalevidence of habitation back to theStone Age.TheRomansoccupied this area up to 400 AD and there has been continuous habitation since that time. The valley is home to two of the oldest churches inWales,those atLlanrhychwynandLlangelynin,which respectively date back to the 11th and 12th centuries.

Much of the Conwy valley was laid waste in theWars of the Rosesby theEarl of Pembroke,under the orders ofEdward IV,the Yorkist king, following a Lancastrian attack on the town ofDenbighin 1466.

At the mouth of the Conwy as it discharges intoConwy Bayis the town of Conwy with itsWorld Heritage Sitecastle–Conwy Castleand two famous bridges. One of the earliestsuspension bridgesbyThomas Telfordnow carries a footpath whilstRobert Stephenson'stubular iron bridgestill carries the mainHolyheadtoLondonrailway line.A third bridge now takes road traffic, and more recently still theA55now runs in a tunnel under theestuary.

The River Conwy by Glan Conwy Railway Station

Water quality

Neither the River Conwy or its tributaries are monitored for quality byNatural Resources Wales.The river is routinely polluted by Dŵr Cymru sewage treatment plants and agricultural runoff. Algae blooms are common during the summer months. The river quality tends to be acidic in the headwaters with very low concentrations of the common anions and cations.

Natural Resources Wales monitors water levels in the valley, with a view to giving flood warnings. There are measuring stations at Betws-y-coed (Cwmlanerch),Llanrwstand Trefriw.

The Conwy is noted for itssalmonandsea trout,although increasing acidification in the second half of the 20th century, especially in the poorly buffered upland waters has significantly impacted upon their spawning success. The construction of an artificial fish pass in the 1990s to allow migratory salmonids access to the river above Conwy falls was intended to help mitigate the effects of acidification.

The Conwy Crossing, animmersed tubetunnel,was built under the estuary during the late 1980s and early 1990s.It was opened by theQueenin October 1991. This resulted in the loss of some saltmarsh but also led to the creation ofConwy RSPB Reserve.

Since 2002 the valley has been overlooked by the turbines of theMoel Maeloganwind farm.

Situation

The panorama shows the mouth of the Conwy Estuary fromDeganwy Castle,the original defensive position of the area. However, problems with resupply in the event of siege and its destruction byLlywelyn ap Gruffudd,Prince of Walesin 1263 to prevent it falling into King Edward's hands, led to a new castle being built across the water in Conwy town.

Panorama of six pictures stitched together showing the mouth of the Conwy Estuary (right) and the location ofConwy Castle(left of centre)

See also

• Conwy Valley Line(railway line)
• List of crossings of the River Conwy
• Rivers of Great Britain
• List of rivers of Europe

External links

• www.geograph.co.uk: photos of the River Conwy