Benbulbin

Benbulbin is a flat-topped mountain in County Sligo, Ireland, whose steep cliffs and stepped slopes expose layers of limestone and shale.

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Dartry Mountains: A mountain range in northwestern Ireland, formed largely from Carboniferous limestone and shale. Benbulbin is a prominent northern outlier of this range.
Carboniferous Period: A geologic period lasting from about 359 to 299 million years ago. Benbulbin’s sedimentary layers were deposited during this interval.
Glencar Waterfall: A waterfall near Glencar Lough in County Leitrim, close to the Sligo border. It lies in the landscape immediately south of Benbulbin.
W. B. Yeats: An Irish poet and playwright, born in 1865 and awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923. Yeats repeatedly evoked the Sligo landscape that Benbulbin dominates.
Carboniferous limestone: Limestone deposited during the Carboniferous Period, about 359 to 299 million years ago. This resistant rock forms Benbulbin’s upper cliffs and cap.
Sedimentary rock: Rock formed through the accumulation, compaction, or chemical precipitation of sediment. Benbulbin’s limestone and shale belong to this broad rock family.
Glencar Lough: A freshwater lake on the Sligo–Leitrim border in northwestern Ireland. The lake and its valley provide a nearby view of Benbulbin’s escarpment.
Under Ben Bulben: A poem by W. B. Yeats, published in 1939, that names Ben Bulben in its title. The poem made the mountain a prominent literary image.
Shale: A fine-grained sedimentary rock formed from compacted mud and clay. Less resistant shale beneath the limestone contributes to Benbulbin’s stepped slopes.
Ice age: A prolonged interval of colder climate during which continental or mountain glaciers expand. Glaciation altered the slopes and valleys around the mountain.