Slieve Mish Mountains


Slieve Mish Mountains, is a predominantly sandstone mountain range at the eastern end of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. Stretching, from the first major peak of Barnanageehy outside of Tralee in the east, to Cnoc na Stuaice in near Central Dingle in the west, the range has over 17 material peaks, with the core of the mountain range based around the massif of its highest peak, Baurtregaum, and its deep glacial valleys of Derrymore Glen and Curraheen Glen.

Naming

The Irish language term "Sliabh" denotes a mountain, however, the precise meaning of "Mis" has not been validated. Irish academic Paul Tempan notes that it could be related to Slemish mountain in County Antrim, where the term "Mis" is from a female name, and thus translates as "the mountains of Mis".

Geology

Like many of the mountain ranges in Kerry, such as the MacGillycuddy Reeks, the Slieve Mish Mountains are composed predominantly of Devonian period Old Red Sandstone, with a band of Ordovician period metasediments on the western slopes of the range.
The rocks date from the Upper Devonian period when Ireland was in a hot equatorial setting. During this 60 million year period, Ireland was the site of a major basin, known as the Munster basin, and Cork and Kerry were effectively a large alluvial floodplain. Chemical oxidation stained the material with a purple–reddish colour, still visible today. There are virtually no fossils in Old Red Sandstone.
The composition of Old Red Sandstone is variable and includes sandstones, mudstones, siltstones, and conglomerates. The Slieve Mish range was also subject to significant glaciation with corries, U-shaped valleys, however the range does not have the sharp rocky arêtes and ridges of the MacGillycuddy Reeks range.

Geography

Overlooking Tralee Bay on the northern side and Dingle Bay on the south, the range extends for 19 kilometres from just outside Tralee in the east to the centre of the Dingle Peninsula in the west. The range is often described as the "backbone" of the Dingle Peninsula because of distribution of most of its major peaks along narrow south-west to north-east "spine" that extends to 6 kilometres at its widest part.
The core of the range is the massif of its highest point Baurtregaum, and the main peaks of the range sit and Baurtregaum's high grassy ridge from Baurtregaum Far NW Top in the east, to Caherconree, and Gearhane, in the west.
Bautregaum has two major glacial U-shaped valleys, the long 4.5-kilometre easterly Curraheen Glen, and the shorter but deeper northerly Derrymore Glen, with its three corrie lakes.
After descending to the north-south mountain pass of Bóthar na gCloch to the west, the spine of the range rises up again at Knockbrack and Lack Mountain, to run in a further south-westerly direction to finish at Cnoc na Stuaice.

List of peaks

The following is a download from the MountainViews Online Database, who list 17 identifiable Slieve Mish peaks with an elevation, or height, above 100 metres
Height
Rank		Prom.
Rank		NameIrish Name TranslationHeight
Prom.
Height
Prom.
Topo
Map		OSI Grid
Reference
11BaurtregaumBarr Trí gComTop of Three Hollows8516432,7922,11071
24CaherconreeCathair ConraoiCú Roí’s Stone Fort8351292,74042371
317Baurtregaum NE Top——819142,6874671
416GearhaneAn GéaránThe Fang792172,5985671
515Baurtregaum NW Top——723182,3725971
612Baurtregaum Far NE Top——603281,9789271
711Castle Hill——600351,96911571
86CaherblaCathair BhláthStone Fort of Flowers586911,92329971
92MoanlaurMóin LáirMiddle Bog5662891,85794871
1014KnockmoreAn Cnoc MórThe Big Hill565271,8548971
117BarnanageehyBearna na GaoitheGap of the wind561561,84118471
128BeenduffAn Bhinn DubhThe Black Peak515401,69013171
1313Cnoc na StuaiceCnoc na StuaiceHill of the Peak483281,5859271
149Lack MountainSliabh na LiceMountain of the Flagstone465401,52613171
1510KnockbrackAn Cnoc BreacThe Speckled Hill459361,50611871
165Corrin332971,08931871
173Knockafeehane30113098842771