View source for Sperrins

{{Short description|Mountain range in Northern Ireland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox mountain
<!-- *** Heading *** -->| name = The Sperrins
| native_name = 
| other_name = ''Sliabh Speirín'' ([[Irish language|Irish]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Sperrin Mountains/Sliabh Speirín |url=https://www.logainm.ie/en/1166751 |website=[[Placenames Database of Ireland]]}}</ref>
<!-- *** Image *** -->| photo = Sperrin Skyway - geograph.org.uk - 3313349.jpg
| photo_size = 300
| photo_caption = Looking towards Sawel and Dart mountains
<!-- *** Country *** -->| country_type = [[Sovereign state]]
| country = United Kingdom
| region_type = [[Countries of the United Kingdom|Constituent country]]
| region = Northern Ireland
| district_type = Counties
| district = [[County Tyrone]], [[County Londonderry]]
<!-- *** Family *** -->| parent = 
| border = <!-- *** Locations *** -->
| range_coordinates = {{coord|54.8|N|7.083|W|type:mountain_region:GB_scale:300000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates = 
| highest = [[Sawel Mountain]]
| elevation_m = 678
<!-- *** Dimensions *** -->| length_km = 
| length_orientation = 
| width_km = 
| width_orientation = 
| area_km2 = <!-- *** Features *** -->
| geology = [[Schist]], [[quartzite]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/ks3/gsl/education/resources/rockcycle/page3997.html |title=The Rock Cycle, Schist, Co Tyrone, The Geological Society |access-date=3 March 2013 |archive-date=22 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522142048/http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/ks3/gsl/education/resources/rockcycle/page3997.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[granite]], [[basalt]], [[rhyolite]]
| orogeny = [[Caledonian orogeny]]
| period = <!-- *** Maps *** -->
| map = 
| map_caption = 
}}

'''The Sperrins''' or '''Sperrin Mountains''' ({{langx|ga|Sliabh Speirín}})<ref>[https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/9b31e0501b744154b4584b1dce1f859b/page/Place-Name-Info/?data_id=dataSource_1-PlaceNames_Gazeteer_No_Global_IDs_3734%3A24049 Northern Ireland Place-Name Project]</ref> are a mountain range in [[Northern Ireland]]. The range stretches from [[Strabane]] and [[Mullaghcarn]] in the west, to [[Slieve Gallion]] and the [[Glenshane Pass]] in the east, in the counties of [[County Tyrone|Tyrone]] and [[County Londonderry|Londonderry]]. The landscape is mostly [[moorland]] and [[blanket bog]]. The region has a population of some 150,000 and is a designated [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]].

==Features==
It has a distinctive [[glacier|glaciated]] landscape. The mountains mostly have rounded summits and the landscape is mainly [[moorland]] and [[blanket bog]]. The [[Glenshane Pass]], part of the A6 [[Belfast]] to [[Derry]] road, is in the mountains and has notoriously bad weather in winter. [[Sawel Mountain]] is the highest peak in the Sperrins, and the eighth highest in [[Northern Ireland]]. Its summit rises to {{convert|678|m|abbr=on}}. Another of the Sperrins,  [[Carntogher]] (464&nbsp;m), towers over the Glenshane Pass.<ref>{{cite web | title=Glenshane Slopes Landscape | work=Environment and Heritage Service | url=http://www.ehsni.gov.uk/landscape/country_landscape/39/39-land.htm | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731141625/http://www.ehsni.gov.uk/landscape/country_landscape/39/39-land.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=2012-07-31 | access-date=2008-06-26 }}</ref>

Geologically, the Sperrins are formed mostly from [[Precambrian]] [[Metamorphic rock|metamorphic rocks]], with some younger [[Ordovician]] igneous rocks in the southern flank of the range. The Mountains are very sparsely populated and provide habitat for a diverse range of birds and mammals. Red fox, Sika Deer, Pine Marten and Red Squirrels are commonly found there alongside Peregrine Falcons, Buzzards and Sparrowhawks. Visiting Golden Eagles from the neighbouring reintroduced Donegal population have been sighted across the range from Strabane to Draperstown although no breeding population has yet been established. The Mountains also provide one of the last refuges of Red Grouse in Northern Ireland.

==List==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left"
|-
!|Rank
!|Name
!|Irish name<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mountaineering.ie/_files/Paul%20Tempan%20Irish%20Mountain%20Placenames%20-%20Feb%202012.pdf|title=Irish Hill and Mountain Names|publisher=MountainViews|author=Paul Tempan|date=February 2012|access-date=19 August 2020|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031220454/https://www.mountaineering.ie/_files/Paul%20Tempan%20Irish%20Mountain%20Placenames%20-%20Feb%202012.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
!|Height<ref name="MV">[https://mountainviews.ie/lists/arderinall/Arderins and Arderin Begs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926172527/https://mountainviews.ie/lists/arderinall/Arderins/ |date=26 September 2021 }}. MountainViews.</ref>
!|[[Topographic prominence|Prominence]]<ref name="MV"/>
|-
|1||[[Sawel Mountain]]||''Samhail Phite Méabha'' ("likeness of [[Medb|Méabh]]'s vulva")||{{convert|678|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|657|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|2||Mullaghclogha||''Mullach Clocha'' ("summit of the stone")||{{convert|635|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|207|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|3||Mullaghaneany||''Mullach an Ionaidh'' ("summit of the wonder")||{{convert|627|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|302|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|4||Meenard||''Mín Ard'' ("high mountain pasture")||{{convert|620|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|85|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|5||Dart Mountain||''An Dairt'' ("the lump")||{{convert|619|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|89|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|6||Mullaghasturrakeen||''Mullach an Starraicín'' ("summit of the steeple")||{{convert|581|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|46|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|7||Mullaghclogher||''Mullach Clochair'' ("summit of the stony patch")||{{convert|572|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|127|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|8||Oughtmore||''Ucht Mór'' ("big mountain breast")||{{convert|569|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|104|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|9||Spelhoagh||''Speilg Chuach'' ("cuckoo rock")||{{convert|568|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|20|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|10||Mullaghdoo||''Mullach Dubh'' ("black summit")||{{convert|568|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|20|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|11||Carnanelly||''Carnán Aichle'' ("little cairn of the lookout")||{{convert|562|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|307|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|12||[[Mullaghmore, County Londonderry|Mullaghmore]]||''Mullach Mór'' ("big summit")||{{convert|550|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|235|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|13||[[Mullaghcarn]]||''Mullach Cairn'' ("summit of the cairn")||{{convert|542|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|377|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|14||White Mountain||''Sliabh Bán'' ("white mountain")||{{convert|537|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|42|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|15||[[Slieve Gallion]]||''Sliabh gCallann'' ("mountain of the heights")||{{convert|528|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|333|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|16||Crockbrack||''Cnoc Breac'' ("speckled hill")||{{convert|526|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|151|m|abbr=on}}
|-
|17||Mullaghcarbatagh||''Mullach Carbadach'' ("boulder-strewn summit")||{{convert|517|m|abbr=on}}||{{convert|32|m|abbr=on}}
|}

== Politics ==
Sperrin was the name of a proposed [[United Kingdom constituencies|United Kingdom constituency]] in the [[Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2018-09-10|title=Final electoral boundary proposals published|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-45474526|access-date=2021-03-05|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415040305/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-45474526|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of mountains in Ireland]]

{{wide image|Slieve gallion snow pano.jpeg|1024px|[[Slieve Gallion]] in the snow}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://archive.today/20121205085558/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ni/landscapes Landscapes Unlocked] - Aerial footage from the BBC ''Sky High'' series explaining the physical, social and economic geography of Northern Ireland.

{{Mountains and hills of County Londonderry and Tyrone}}
{{County Londonderry}}
{{County Tyrone}}
{{AONBs in Northern Ireland}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mountain ranges of Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Mountains and hills of County Tyrone]]
[[Category:Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Mountains and hills of County Londonderry]]
[[Category:Protected areas of County Londonderry]]
[[Category:Protected areas of County Tyrone]]


{{Tyrone-geo-stub}}
{{Londonderry-geo-stub}}