Posted by RichardG on February 22, 2005 at 17:40:20 from 213.86.133.215 user RichardG.
In Reply to: Re: Cirques, cwms, corries a small thing but our own posted by andyb on February 22, 2005 at 15:41:41:
A Cwm is usually the upper reaches of a Welsh valley, sometimes but not always the equivalent of a cirque. A lower valley may be a Dyffryn. If you ride on the Vale of Rheidol Railway from Aberystwyth you first traverse Dyffryn Rheidol before climbing into Cwm Rheidol.
The French word cirque - circus - describes the circular shape of the feature, cut from the high mountains with the glacial valley leading out through the weakest rock. The Cirque de Gavarnie in the Pyrenees is a classic example.