Munster Blackwater
| Munster Blackwater | |
|---|---|
 River Blackwater at Fermoy | |
 | |
| Native name | An Abhainn Mhór, An Abha Mhór Error {{native name checker}}: parameter value is malformed (help) |
| Location | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| Counties | Kerry, Cork, Waterford |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Mullaghareirk Mountains |
| • location | County Kerry |
| • coordinates | 52°11′31″N 9°14′28″W / 52.192°N 9.241°W |
| • elevation | 229 m (751 ft) |
| Mouth | Celtic Sea |
• location | Youghal Harbour, Cork |
• coordinates | 51°56′31″N 7°49′59″W / 51.942°N 7.833°W |
| Length | 169 km (105 mi) |
| Basin size | 1,200 sq mi (3,100 km2) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Funshion or Funcheon, Araglin |
| • right | Bride |
| Designation | |
| Official name | Blackwater Estuary |
| Designated | 7 June 1996 |
| Reference no. | 836[1] |
The Blackwater or Munster Blackwater (Template:Lang-ga, The Big River) is a river which flows through counties Kerry, Cork, and Waterford in Ireland. It rises in the Mullaghareirk Mountains in County Kerry and then flows in an easterly direction through County Cork, through Mallow and Fermoy. It then enters County Waterford where it flows through Lismore, before abruptly turning south at Cappoquin, and finally draining into the Celtic Sea at Youghal Harbour. In total, the Blackwater is 169 km (105 mi) long. The total catchment area of the River Blackwater is 3,324 km2.[2] The long term average flow rate of the River Blackwater is 89.1 cubic metres per second (m3/s)[3]
The Blackwater is notable for being one of the best salmon fishing rivers in the country.[citation needed] Like many Irish and British rivers, salmon stocks declined in recent years, but the Irish government banned commercial netting of salmon off the coast of Ireland in November 2006.[citation needed]
Tributaries
Tributaries of the Blackwater include:
- River Awbeg (An Abha Bheag, "the small river")
- River Dalua (Abhainn Dalua)
- River Bride (An Bhríd)
- River Allow (Abhainn Ealla)
- River Araglin (An Airglinn)
- River Finnow (An Fhionnabha, "the fair river")
- River Funshion (Abhainn na Fuinseann, "the ash river")
Settlements
Towns along the river are Youghal, Cappoquin, Lismore, Fermoy, Mallow and Rathmore.[citation needed]
Blackwater Estuary Special Protection Area and Ramsar Site
The Blackwater Estuary was listed on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance on 11 June 1996.[4] It is also a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the E.U. Birds Directive, the SPA extends from Youghal New Bridge to the Ferry Point peninsula, near the ouflow of the river to the sea. The SPA encompasses a section of the main channel of the River Blackwater as far as Ballynaclash Quay as well as the channel between Kinsalebeg and Moord Cross Roads on the eastern side and part of the estuary of the Tourig River as far upstream as Kilmagner. The tidal flats attract numbers of waders and wildfowl and the species named as targets for conservation within the SPA include an internationally important population of black-tailed godwit as well as nationally important populations of Eurasian wigeon, European golden plover]], Northern lapwing, dunlin, bar-tailed godwit, Eurasian curlew and common redshank. Other notable species occurring within the SPA are pale-bellied brent goose, Northern shelduck, Eurasian teal, mallard, Northern shoveler, red-breasted merganser, great cormorant, little egret, grey heron, Eurasian oystercatcher, common ringed plover, grey plover, red knot, common greenshank and ruddy turnstone. Little egret, European golden plover and bar-tailed godwit are listed on Annex I of the E.U. Birds Directive.[5]
References
- ^ "Blackwater Estuary". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ South Eastern River Basin District Management System. Page 38 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ South Eastern River Basin District Management System. Page 38 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Ramsar List" (PDF). Ramsar.org. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- ^ "SITE SYNOPSIS SITE NAME: BLACKWATER ESTUARY SPA SITE CODE: 004028" (PDF). National Parks and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 30 March 2020.