River Conwy

Conwy (Afon Conwy)
River
Boats in the river estuary at Conwy
Country	Wales
District	County Borough of Conwy
Tributaries
- left	Machno, Lledr, Llugwy, Crafnant
City	Conwy
Source
- location	Migneint moor where a number of small streams flow into Llyn Conwy, Gwynedd
Mouth	Conwy estuary
- location	Irish Sea, Wales
Length	43 km (27 mi)
Discharge	for Cwm Llanerch
- average	18.59 m3/s (656 cu ft/s)

The River Conwy (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkɔnʊɨ]; Welsh: Afon Conwy) is a river in north Wales. From its source to its discharge in Conwy Bay it is a little over 27 miles (43 km) long. "Conwy" was formerly Anglicised as "Conway."

The name 'Conwy' derives from the old Welsh words 'cyn' (chief) and 'gwy' (water), the river being originally called the 'Cynwy'.

It rises on the Migneint moor where a number of small streams flow into Llyn Conwy, then flows in a generally northern direction, being joined by the tributaries of the rivers Machno and Lledr before reaching Betws-y-Coed, where it is also joined by Afon Llugwy. From Betws-y-coed the river continues to flow north through Llanrwst, Trefriw (where it is joined by the Afon Crafnant) and Dolgarrog (where it is joined by Afon Porth-llwyd and Afon Ddu) before reaching Conwy Bay at Conwy. During spring tides the river is tidal as far as Tan-lan, near Llanrwst.

The Conwy is bounded to the east by the rolling ancient mudstone hills of the Silurian period, the Migneint Moors. These acid rocks are generally covered in thin, often acid soils and for large parts of the upland areas the cover is of moor-grass — Mollinia spp and Erica communities. As a result, the water entering the river tends to be acidic and often coloured brown with humic acids