Morfa Harlech National Nature Reserve facts for kids
Morfa Harlech National Nature Reserve is a special place in Wales. It's located just north of the town of Harlech. This amazing area is a nature reserve, which means it's protected to help wildlife and nature thrive.
It stretches across wide open sands and reaches towards the beautiful mountains of Snowdonia. Morfa Harlech is home to one of the biggest sand dune systems along the Meirionnydd coastline. What makes it extra special is that it's the only sand dune system in Wales that is still actively growing!
Discover Morfa Harlech National Nature Reserve
Morfa Harlech is a very large system of sand dunes. It spreads out north from the town of Harlech. These dunes cover a huge area, about 6 square kilometers (which is like 600 football fields!).
The Amazing Sand Dunes
A big part of the dunes, about 1.5 square kilometers, has been planted with Corsican Pine trees. This is called "afforestation," meaning trees were planted to create a forest.
Did you know that Harlech Castle is nearby? This famous castle used to be right on the coastline. But over the last 600 years, the sand dunes have grown so much that the castle is now about 1,000 meters (or 3,280 feet) away from the sea!
Morfa Harlech is one of the few places in Britain where sand dunes are still actively growing. This happens because of something called "longshore drift." This is when ocean currents move sand along the coastline. While the dunes at Morfa Dyffryn are eroding (wearing away), the sand is being carried to Morfa Harlech, making its dunes grow bigger!
