Cadair Idris

Cadair Idris or Cader Idris is a mountain in Gwynedd, Wales, which lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park near the town of Dolgellau. The peak, which is one of the most popular in Wales for walkers and hikers, is composed largely of Ordovician igneous rocks, with classic glacial erosion features such as cwms, moraines, striated rocks, and roches moutonnées.EtymologyCadair Idris means 'Idris's Chair'. Idris is usually taken to be the name of a giant or, alternatively, it may refer to Idris ap Gwyddno (or Gweiddno), a 7th-century prince of Meirionnydd who won a battle against the Irish on the mountain. Idris ap Gwyddno was in fact referred to as Idris Gawr ("Idris the Giant") in some mediaeval genealogies of Meirionydd.The basic meaning of the word cadair (Middle Welsh/Early Modern Welsh kadeir or cadeir) is 'seat, chair' (borrowed from the Latin cathedra 'chair'). In place names cadair can mean 'stronghold, fort, fortress' or 'mountain or hill shaped like a chair'. The spelling cader represents a spoken variant of the standard form cadair.