Elenydd

Elenydd is an upland area of west-central Wales, extending across parts of northern and eastern Ceredigion and Powys between Aberystwyth and Rhayader. Elenydd is also a name given to the medieval commote of Cwmwd Deuddwr which covered approximately the same area.

The area is an upland plateau within the Cambrian Mountains, source of the rivers Elan, Severn, Teifi, Towy and Wye. It is a loosely defined term, but generally interpreted to mean the upland area between Pumlumon in the north and Mynydd Epynt in the south. The term "Desert of Wales" is sometimes applied to this or a wider area.

Much of Elenydd is open land with public access, following the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, widely known as the "CROW Act". Specific areas within Elenydd are designated as being of nature conservation importance.

The name means the "area adjoining the Elan", which river name probably arises from Welsh elain, meaning fawn or hind; -ydd is a suffix denoting a territory.

The hills and valleys of Elenydd are carved into a suite of mudstones and sandstones largely of Silurian age though some Ordovician strata is present locally within the core of the Rhiwnant Anticline which runs northeast–southwest through the southern Elenydd. Parallel to but northwest of this structure is the complex Central Wales Syncline.

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