Twelve Bens
| Twelve Bens/Benna Beola | |
|---|---|
View of the range from Roundstone village. | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Benbaun |
| Elevation | 729 m (2,392 ft) |
| Coordinates | 53°30′N 9°49′W / 53.50°N 9.81°W |
| Dimensions | |
| Area | 161.3 km2 (62.3 sq mi) |
| Naming | |
| Native name | Na Beanna Beola |
| English translation | The peaks of Beola |
| Geography | |
| Location | Connemara, County Galway, Ireland |
| Provinces of Ireland | Connacht |
| Topo map | OSI Discovery 37, 44 |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | Precambrian-Cambrian |
| Rock type(s) | quartzites, grits, graphitic |
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The Twelve Bens or Twelve Pins, also called the Benna Beola (Irish: Na Beanna Beola, meaning 'the peaks of Beola'), is a mountain range of mostly sharp-peaked quartzite summits and ridges in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The widest definition of the range includes the Garraun Complex to the north as well as several isolated peaks to the west, and is designated a 16,163-hectare (39,940-acre) Special Area of Conservation.
The highest point is Benbaun at 729 metres (2,392 ft). The range is a popular location for hill-walking activities with the 16–kilometre 8–9 hour Glencoaghan Horseshoe, considered one of the best ridge-walks in Ireland. Topographically, the range is partnered with the Maumturks range to the east of the Inagh valley (a Western Way route); and both share a common geology being largely composed of metamorphic marine rocks, being predominantly resistant quartzite but with deposits of schists in the valleys (known as Connemara Dalradian rocks).