Editing Mount Brandon (section)

==Geography==
{{see also|Mountains of the Dingle Peninsula}}
Mount Brandon itself is in the middle of a long and high [[ridge]] known as the '''Brandon Group''',<ref name="peak"/> which runs north–south for {{convert|10|km}} across the width of the Dingle peninsula. As well as Mount Brandon, the Brandon Group ridge has seven other major classified peaks (see list below), including the similarly named '''Brandon Peak''' {{convert|840|m|ft}}, '''Benagh''' {{convert|822|m|ft}}, '''Faha Ridge''' {{convert|809|m|ft}}, '''Gearhane''' {{convert|803|m|ft}}, '''Masatiompan''' {{convert|762|m|ft}}, '''Piaras Mór''' {{convert|746|m|ft}}, and '''An Scraig''' {{convert|623|m|ft}}.

The most distinctive aspect of the Brandon Group is the contrast between the gentle grassy slopes on its western side, and the sharp cliffs and deep [[cirque|corries]] of its eastern side; an effect that the Brandon Group's long north–south ridge exactly separates.<ref name="dillon">{{cite book | last1 = Dillion | first1 = Paddy | title = The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits | publisher = Cicerone | isbn = 978-1852841102 | year = 1993}}</ref>
Mount Brandon owes its craggy shape to the work of [[glaciers]] during the [[ice age]], which gouged out a series of [[Cirque|corries]] on the eastern flank of the mountain. The summit of Mount Brandon is rounded and smooth as it was likely a [[nunatuk]] (like [[Lugnaquilla]] in Wicklow), and presents a stark contrast to Brandon Peak, or ''Barr an Ghéaráin'', which is [[Alps|alpine]] in appearance.<ref name="dillon"/>

[[File:Brandon Faha Ridge Paternoster Lakes.jpg|thumb|left|The chain of ''paternoster lakes'' from Brandon's east corrie; Faha Ridge is middle left, and Benagh back left]]

On Brandon's deep eastern corrie, flanked by Faha Ridge to its north, is a series of rocky plateaus, each of which has a small [[paternoster lake]]; over ten lakes grow in size descending the mountain.<ref name="OSI">{{Cite web |url=http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,446011,611671,5 |title=Ordnance Survey Ireland – Online map viewer |access-date=2010-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829114800/http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,446011,611671,5 |archive-date=2012-08-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> From highest they are, the Locha Chom an Chnoic (Coumaknock Loughs), Loch na Lice (Lough Nalacken) and Loch Cruite (Lough Cruttia).<ref name="dillon"/><ref name="OSI"/> This corrie's natural environment, and positioning on the ''Faha Route'', means it is regularly photographed.<ref name="dillon"/>

Brandon is the [[List of mountains of the British Isles by height|340th–highest mountain, and 10th most prominent mountain]], in Britain and Ireland, on the [[Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles#Simms|Simms]] classification.<ref name="dobih">{{cite web|url=http://www.hills-database.co.uk/downloads.html|title=The Database of British and Irish Hills|date=2018|author1=Chris Cocker|author2=Graham Jackson|publisher=[[Database of British and Irish Hills]]}}</ref> Brandon is regarded by the [[Scottish Mountaineering Club]] ("SMC") as one of 34 [[Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles#Furths|Furths]], which is a mountain above {{convert|3000|ft|0|abbr=on}} in elevation, and meets the other SMC criteria for a [[Munro]] (e.g. "sufficient separation"), but which is outside of (or ''furth'') Scotland; Brandon is referred to as one of the 13 [[Irish Munro]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smc.org.uk/hills/hill-lists#furths|title=Hill Lists: Furths|quote=The list of peaks of 3000ft or more within the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland outside (furth) of Scotland. There are currently 34 Furths.|publisher=[[Scottish Mountaineering Club]]|access-date=29 October 2018|archive-date=5 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005153432/https://www.smc.org.uk/hills/hill-lists#furths|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irelandsown.ie/irelands-munros/|title=Ireland's Munros|publisher=Ireland's Own|date=26 June 2018|access-date=29 October 2018|archive-date=10 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010213635/https://www.irelandsown.ie/irelands-munros/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Brandon's prominence qualifies for the [[Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles#P600 (the "Majors")|P600]] classification. Both Brandon and Brandon Peak, meet the Britain and Ireland [[Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles#Marilyns|Marilyn]] classification.<ref name="dobih"/> Brandon is the 3rd highest mountain, and Brandon Peak is the 9th highest mountain, in the [[MountainViews Online Database]], ''[[Lists of mountains in Ireland#100 Highest|100 Highest Irish Mountains]]''.<ref name="mountain">{{cite web|url=https://mountainviews.ie/lists/highest/|title=Irish Highest 100: The highest 100 Irish mountains with a prominence of +100m|publisher=[[MountainViews Online Database]]|date=September 2018}}</ref><ref name="collins">{{cite book| author=[[MountainViews Online Database]] (Simon Stewart)|year=2013 | title=A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins |publisher=Collins Books | isbn=978-1-84889-164-7}}</ref>