Sruwaddacon Bay
| Sruwaddacon Bay | |
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Sruwaddacon estuary
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| Location | County Mayo |
| Coordinates | 54°16′00″N 9°47′00″W / 54.26667°N 9.783333°WCoordinates: 54°16′00″N 9°47′00″W / 54.26667°N 9.783333°W |
| Ocean/sea sources | Atlantic |
| Basin countries | Ireland |
Sruwaddacon Bay (Irish: Sruth Fada Con, meaning "stream of the long hound") is a tidal estuary which runs through the middle of the Gaeltacht Kilcommon parish in Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. It is of historical importance in Irish legend, an important marine habitat, an E.U. Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and an EU Special Protected Area (Birds Directive). Its translated name in English, "Stream of the Long Hound", reflects its general shape. It enters the Atlantic Ocean through Broadhaven Bay, another Special Area of Conservation.
The estuary measures approximately 8.4 square kilometres and consists of a north-westerly-orientated main channel fed by the Glenamoy and Muingnabo rivers. A second channel flows around the village of Rossport from the northwest and is fed by the Gweedaney stream. Both channels join into a fast flowing channel which widens out into an exposed bay at the mouth of the estuary. The lower portion of Sruwaddacon Bay has exceptionally strong currents.
Most of the estuary is dominated by marine species with little depth in the upper and middle sections at low water and a significant intertidal area. It has few anthropogenic impacts with a mostly agricultural catchment and the small village of Rossport located at the centre of its two main channels. The outer area of the estuary is predominately sand and sand dunes where it flows into and out of Broadhaven Bay, the mid-estuary is mainly hard substrates of cobble and rock while the upper estuary has a mixture of sand and mud substrates. There are patchy areas of Fucus cover in the middle and lower areas of the estuary but the majority is unvegetated.
Salinity values recorded at beach sites were high in the middle and lower estuary – around 30 p.p.t. Salinity values close to freshwater were found at the confluence of the Glenamoy and Muingnabo rivers.
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