Afon Erch facts for kids

The Afon Erch is a short river located on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales. It's an interesting river because of its unique path and how it connects with another river, the Afon Rhyd-hir, before reaching the sea.

The Journey of the Afon Erch

The Afon Erch starts its journey near the village of Llanaelhaearn. From there, it flows south and then southwest. It passes a small place called Llwyndyrys. Here, the river makes a sharp turn, heading east and then curving south.

It continues its path, flowing past the area east of Y Ffor at Rhyd-y-gwystl. The river then heads towards Abererch. Even though the village name suggests the river enters the sea there, it actually doesn't! Instead, the Afon Erch flows west, running parallel to the coast for about 1 mile, until it reaches Pwllheli.

How the River Got its Name

The name 'Erch' has a couple of possible meanings. It could mean 'dappled' or 'dark'. Another idea is that it might be an old personal name.

For a long time, until the 1500s, the Afon Erch did flow into the sea right at Abererch. But over time, the movement of sand along the coast, called longshore drift, changed things. This natural process moved the sands of Morfa Abererch, which then pushed the river's mouth further west.

Meeting the Afon Rhyd-hir

The Afon Erch isn't alone in its journey. It is joined by another river called the Afon Rhyd-hir. In the Welsh language, 'Rhyd-hir' means 'river of the long ford'.

The Afon Rhyd-hir starts its flow south of Llithfaen. It then travels south past Llannor and approaches Pwllheli from the west. Just west of Pwllheli, it meets another stream, the Afon Penrhos. This stream begins near a large wet area called Cors Geirch, which is a special nature reserve.

The Afon Rhyd-hir eventually joins the Afon Erch within the tidal area of Pwllheli Harbour. This is where the two rivers combine their waters.

Valleys Shaped by Ice

Did you know that parts of the valleys where these rivers flow were created by ancient ice? Long ago, during the Ice Age, melting ice created powerful streams of water. These streams carved out the valleys that the Afon Erch and Afon Rhyd-hir now follow.

Sometimes, a river can look a bit small for the valley it flows through. This is called a "misfit stream." The very top part of the Afon Penrhos, for example, is a misfit stream within its valley. This means the valley was once much larger, likely carved by a bigger flow of water from melting glaciers.