Ring of Gullion AONB
Coordinates: 54°07′44″N 6°26′02″W / 54.129°N 6.434°W
The Ring of Gullion (Irish: Fáinne Cnoc Shliabh gCuillinn, meaning "hill ring of Slieve Gullion")[1] is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It is located in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, measures roughly 42 by 18 kilometres (26 by 11 mi) and comprises some 150 km² defined topographically by the hills of the Ring Dyke.
This structure was the first Ring dike to be mapped,[2] although its significance was not understood until similar structures had been described from Scotland. It was emplaced during the Tertiary opening of the Atlantic Ocean during the formation of the Tertiary Igneous Province.
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[edit] Formation
The Ring Dyke's structure was produced when the active volcano's caldera underwent collapse producing a concentric suite of faults providing space into which magma was able to intrude. The ring dyke is composite with both porphyritic granophyre and porphyritic felsite components.[3] The composition of the remainder of the volcano today is dominated by Gabbro and granophyre and is also so site of a noted PGE occurrence.
[edit] AONB
The AONB area of the Ring of Gullion includes the Mountain Ring and its various slopes, but also there is a deviation to the west to include the famous Dorsey Enclosure. In the west it also includes the valley of the Cully Water and the Umeracam River which separate the hills of the ring dyke from the rolling drumlin landscape extending towards Crossmaglen and Cullyhanna. In the north-west the ring dyke runs through the higher ground of the Fews where it is picked out by sharp rocky hills with distinctive heath vegetation (which is the derivation of The Fews name). To the east its boundary is the Newry Canal and the Newry River flowing towards Carlingford Lough under the brow of Anglesey and Flagstaff Mountains.
[edit] Management
The Ring of Gullion is managed through the Ring of Gullion Management plan 2010-2016 and administered by Newry and Mourne District Council (NMDC). This management is funded through NIEA and NMDC.
[edit] References
- ^ Placenames Database of Ireland
- ^ Slieve Gullion Ring - Overview, the Ulster Museum website
- ^ McDonnell,S., Troll, V.R., Emeleus, C.H., Meighan, I.G., Brock, D. & Gould, R.J. 2004. Intrusive history of the Slieve Gullion ring dyke, Ireland: implications for the internal structure of silicic sub-caldera magma chambers. Mineralogical magazine, 68, 725-738
[edit] External links
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