BLACKWATER, RIVER

Irish An Abhainn Mhr river rising in the uplands on the border of Counties Cork and Kerry, Ireland, and flowing 104 miles (167 km) to the sea at Youghal, County Cork. In its upper course the Blackwater flows between uplands and a sandstone ridge with summits above 2,200 feet (670 m). Eastwest lines of hills mark the entire upper course of the Blackwater, and so for most of its length the river flows west to east; but at Cappoquin, County Waterford, it suddenly turns southward and flows for the last 15 miles (24 km) of its course across the Drum Hills and the Youghal and Clashmore anticlines. Above Cappoquin the river's broad valley is characterized by pastures, woodlands, and large estates. Below Cappoquin the river cuts across the grain of the land in a series of gorges and depressions. The Blackwater is noted for its trout and salmon fishing. Irish An Abhainn Mhr river in Northern Ireland, rising in the uplands near the Dungannon Fermanagh district boundaries and fed by a network of small streams northeast of a drainage divide near Fivemiletown. The river flows northeast through southern Dungannon district and then turns southeast, forming part of the border with the Republic of Ireland. West of Tynan it turns northeast again and flows across the Moy-Caledon lowland and the central lowland to enter Lough (lake) Neagh, after a course of 50 miles (80 km). Immediately south of Lough Neagh, drumlins (oval mounds of glacial till) provide the only sites that are normally dry in an area subject to flooding.