Snowdonia

Snowdonia (Eryri)
Protected Area
View of Llyn Llydaw from Crib Goch
Country	Wales
Councils	Gwynedd, Conwy
Location	Wales
Highest point	Snowdon
- elevation	1,085 m (3,560 ft)
- coordinates	53°4′8″N 4°4′32″W / 53.06889°N 4.07556°W / 53.06889; -4.07556
Area	823 sq mi (2,132 km2)
National Park of Wales	1953
IUCN category	V - Protected Landscape/Seascape
A map of Snowdonia National Park

Snowdonia (Welsh: Eryri) is a mountainous region in north Wales and a national park of 823 square miles (2,130 km²) in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951.

The English name for the area derives from Snowdon, which is the highest mountain in Wales at 3,560 ft (1,085 m). In Welsh, the area is named Eryri. A commonly held belief is that the name is derived from eryr ("eagle"), and thus means 'the abode/land of eagles', but recent evidence is that it means quite simply Highlands, and is related to the Latin (to rise) as leading Welsh scholar Sir Ifor Williams proved.

The term ‘Eryri’ first appeared in a manuscript in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum, in an account of the downfall of the semi-legendary 5th-century king Gwrtheyrn (Vortigern).

In the Middle Ages the title Prince of Wales and Lord of Snowdonia (Tywysog Cymru ac Arglwydd Eryri) was used by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd; his grandfather Llywelyn Fawr used the title Prince of north Wales and Lord of Snowdonia.

Before the boundaries of the national park were designated, "Snowdonia" was generally used to refer to a smaller area, namely the upland area of northern Gwynedd centred on the Snowdon massif, whereas the national park covers an area more than twice that size extending far to the south into Meirionnydd. This is apparent in books published prior to 1951, such as the classic travelogue Wild Wales by George Borrow (1862) and The Mountains of Snowdonia by H. Carr & G. Lister (1925). F. J. North, as editor of the book Snowdonia (1949), states "When the Committee delineated provisional boundaries, they included areas some distance beyond Snowdonia proper." The traditional Snowdonia thus includes the ranges of Snowdon and its satellites, the Glyderau, the Carneddau and the Moel Siabod group. It does not include the hills to the south of Maentwrog. As Eryri (see above), this area has a unique place in Welsh history, tradition and culture.