Killarney

Eagle's Nest and Upper Lake, Killarney, southwest Ireland. The lakes of Killarney are among Ireland's main tourist attractions, nestling among the series of mountains called Macgillycuddy's Reeks. The lakes occupy broad valleys, and the mountains are formed of resistant sandstone. Mild, wet conditions favour the growth of deciduous woodland.

The Gap of Dunloe, Killarney, Ireland, situated in the mountain range called Macgillycuddy's Reeks. Many upland areas were affected by glaciers during the last glacial phase. Upland areas favoured the accumulation of snow and ice owing to their lower temperatures. Small cirque glaciers and larger valley glaciers flowed along pre-existing river valleys, widening and deepening them. In some cases the glacier cut through a mountain range, forming a col or gap such as this.

The Gap of Dunloe, Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland, shows signs of the passage of a glacier during the last glacial phase. Upland areas favour the accumulation of snow and ice owing to their lower temperatures. Small cirque glaciers and larger valley glaciers flow along pre-existing river valleys, widening and deepening the valley. In some cases the glacier cuts through a mountain range, forming a col or gap. These are now often used as transport routes.

A jaunty or jaunting car, a two-wheeled, horse-drawn cart, crosses a bridge in the Gap of Dunloe, a beautiful tourist area southwest of the town of Killarney in County Kerry.

The beautiful valley of the River Laune joins the island-studded lakes of Killarney, in County Kerry, Ireland.

Market town and tourist centre in County Kerry, Republic of Ireland; population (2002) 9,500. It is a famous beauty spot in Ireland; the mountain range Macgillycuddy's Reeks and the Lakes of Killarney lie to the southwest. Industries include hosiery and container cranes. The Catholic Cathedral of St Mary was designed by Pugin in 1855. The 19th-century Church of Ireland St Mary's Church is noted for its rich internal decoration. The National Museum of Irish Transport is located at Killarney.

The Lakes of Killarney The Lakes of Killarney are 2 km/1.3 miles from the town, and are enclosed by wood-crowned mountains. The lower lake, called Lough Leane, is dotted with 30 wooded islands, the most important being Inisfallen Island, with the beautiful ruins of the abbey, founded about AD 600. Between 950 and 1320 the Annals of Inisfallen were written here; the manuscript is now held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Muckross Abbey, which was built by the Franciscans about 1440, is on a peninsula which divides the lower lake from the middle lake or Lough Torc (also known as Lough Muckross). The upper lake connects with the middle and lower lakes by means of the Long Range, a channel 4 km/2.5 mi long.

Other places of great beauty in the area are Mount Torc (537 m/1,762 ft) and Mount Purple (835 m/2,740 ft, so called because it is covered in heather in summer); the gardens at Muckross; and the famous gap of Dunloe, a narrow mountain gorge. Of historic interest are the church at Aghado, and the ruins of Ross Castle, a large, heavily fortified, 14th-century construction on the shore of Lough Leane. The 19th-century Muckross House in Killarney National Park houses a folk museum.