fbpx

KidsKonnect

Snowdonia Facts & Worksheets

Snowdonia is one of the UK's 15 National Parks located in Northwestern Wales.

Search for Worksheets

Worksheets /Social Studies /Geography /Snowdonia Facts & Worksheets
Premium
Not ready to purchase a subscription? Click to download the free sample version   Download sample

Historic attractions, hiking routes, rushing waterfalls, peaceful lakes, and gorgeous villages are all found in Snowdonia. The Snowdon Mountain Railway offers a scenic journey and a great way to get to Mount Snowdon without the hike. 

See the fact file below for more information on Snowdonia, or you can download our 26-page Snowdonia worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

GEOGRAPHY

  • Snowdonia is one of the UK‘s 15 National Parks and is firmly established as one of the British Isles’ most lasting tourist attractions. Every year, it attracts over 10 million tourists from all over the world. It’s easy to see why the region is such a popular tourist destination. 
  • Aside from the spectacular Mount Snowdon, Snowdonia offers a diverse range of attractions and a stunning natural environment. The area has a fascinating history and is complete with a rich tapestry of myths and tales that attracts many people in its own right. The Snowdon Mountain Railway excursion allows people to take in the breathtaking views that Snowdonia is known for.
  • The beauty of Snowdonia has taken hundreds of millions of years to form, roughly 500 million years. The Harlech Dome, a massive geometric formation with Blaenau Ffestiniog at its northern edge and Tywyn at its southern, is considered the oldest physical landmark in Snowdonia. 
  • It is thought to date from the Cambrian Period, the Paleozoic Era’s first geological period. Snowdonia was once submerged beneath the seabed, as evidenced by old fossil shell fragments in some of the mountain’s strata.
  • Snowdonia’s glacial activity peaked much more recently, around 18,000 years ago. The glaciers changed the landscape dramatically, leaving vast U-shaped valleys and corries that can still be seen in Snowdonia today.

HISTORICAL MAJESTY: SNOWDONIA

  • Snowdonia has been home to humans for thousands of years. In the area, there are various prehistoric sites. The most important of these is Tre’r Ceiri (Town of Giants), an Iron Age village on the Llyn Peninsula that stands out immediately. 
  • A massive rampart and 150 stone cottages are among the town’s ruins and were built in approximately 200 BCE.
  • The location drew in Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, and Normans alike, so local aristocrats had to be wary.
  • They built impressive fortifications to safeguard their land and show who was in command, some of which are still visible today.
  • The route from Betws y Coed to Llanberis through Pen y Pass provides breathtaking vistas and access to several popular walking pathways surrounding Mount Snowdon. To the west, the route south from Caernarfon to Beddgelert and north to Dolwyddelan is enjoyable, with great views of the valley.
  • In the past, Snowdonia was at the center of bitter political disputes. The fall of the Roman occupation left a power vacuum in its wake, and the Principality or Kingdom of Gwynedd sprang from the ashes.

PROMINENT ATTRACTIONS

  • In Gwynedd, north-west Wales, the Snowdon Mountain Railway is a restricted gauge rack and pinion mountain railway. 
  • It is the UK’s only public rack and pinion railway, and remains a popular tourist attraction after more than 100 years of service, carrying over 140,000 passengers annually. 
  • A variety of well-marked trails branch out from Llanberis at the base of Mount Snowdon, allowing visitors to become acquainted with the region’s beauty, flora and animals, and geology. From here, there are several relatively safe and straightforward paths to the peak.
  • A highlight of the trip is Hafod Eryri, the stunning visitor center at the summit, which offers spectacular views of North Wales and the Irish Channel. The granite building’s unusual shape and large windows provide shielded views of the surroundings.
  • It also has a café and gift shop, as well as mountain information. It can get crowded at times because over 500,000 people visit the peak each year.
  • Little Llanberis is located at the start of the breathtaking Llanberis Pass. The village is a popular starting point for hikers who seek to climb Snowdon along the Llanberis Path, as well as the starting location for the annual 10-mile Snowdon Race to the top. The twin lakes of Padarn and Peris, as well as the subterranean Dinorwig Power Station, one of Europe’s largest pumping stations, are nearby.
  • The road through the Glaslyn valley leads to Betws-y-Coed, a charming little town (“the temple in the wood”). In the summer, travelers go to Gwydyr Forest to see the ruins of Pany Mill and the 15th-century Pont-y-Pair bridge, which are located at the confluence of the Conwy, Lledr, and Llugwy valleys.
  • The local environs are breathtaking, with the Fairy Glen (Ffos Anoddun), Swallow Falls, and Conwy waterfalls among the most popular walking attractions.
  • Dolwyddelan Castle is situated on a ridge overlooking Moel Siabod in Snowdonia. Built between 1210 and 1240 by Llywelyn the Great, Wales’ most powerful medieval prince, it saw action during the Welsh-English wars before succumbing to the English forces in 1283.
  • The vistas alone make it worth visiting this magnificent medieval fortification, as do the treks into the surrounding countryside. The small village of Dolwyddelan is also worth visiting, notably for the picturesque 500-year-old St. Gwyddelan Church. There are a few hotels and B&Bs in the village, as well as a convenient hostel for hikers.

SIGNIFICANCE

  • Snowdonia National Park is one of only 18 Dark Sky Reserves in the world, and comes alive at night in a stunningly spectacular location by day. According to Dani Robertson, Dark Sky Officer for the North Wales Dark Skies Partnership (known as Prosiect Nos) between Snowdonia National Park, the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, Anglesey, and Pen Lln Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, its pristine night sky is important not only for stargazers, but also for biodiversity, with an increasing body of scientific evidence revealing how birds, mammals, and invertebrates rely on natural darkness to survive.
  • Moreover, Snowdonia’s woodlands are a secret world of stunning fauna and beautiful vegetation. These flooded sections of land are home to incredible biodiversity, but their defining feature may be one of nature’s most effective responses to climate change. Today, visitors have numerous advantages in the area, including the creation of jobs in local hotels and restaurants, as tourists spending money on goods and activities pushes policymakers to upgrade the facilities to better accommodate tourists.

Snowdonia Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Snowdonia across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Snowdonia, one of the UK’s 15 National Parks located in Northwestern Wales.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Snowdonia Facts 
  2. Build to Complete
  3. Wrap It Up!
  4.  #PuzzleSolver
  5. Famous SPOTted 
  6. Take a Glimpse 
  7. Unravel the Features
  8. Beauty at Its Finest
  9. #SkNOWingDONIA
  10. Write to Protect
  11. Latest Scoop!

Who named Snowdonia?

The name “Snowdonia” comes from Col. Sir George Everest, a surveyor general of India who was born in Crickhowell, Wales. Roberts said that ditching the English name “Snowdon” for Snowdonia would eventually catch on if the authority led the way.

What is special about Snowdonia?

Snowdonia National Park, Wales is home to nine mountain ranges, which cover almost 52% of the Park and include a number of peaks that are more than 3,000 feet (915m) tall. Aside from the beauty and appeal of its lofty mountains, Snowdonia is a wonderfully diverse environment made up of steep river gorges and waterfalls.

What animals can you find on Snowdonia?

Mount Snowdonia in Wales is enveloped by a lush wilderness that houses various tough wildlife like mountain goats, ravens, otters, polecats, and stoats.

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Snowdonia Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, September 7, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

Related Resources