Facts about County Sligo

Ben Bulben

Co. Sligo

by Sasha Bosbeer
Facts about Co. Sligo
Sligo is bordered by the Dartry mountain range to the north, the Ox Mountains to the south, and Sligo Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.
The Dartry range includes Benbulbin (1,722), which presents a precipitious face to Sligo Bay. The Curlew and the Bricklieve Mountains are also found in county Sligo. Sligo stretches from the river Moy to the Arigna River, and from Lough Gara to Donegal Bay.
Its long indented Atlantic coastline alternates between low sharp rocks and flat sandy beaches, relieved in places by bold headlands, and Knocknarea cliff.
The islands of Inishmurray and Coney Island lie off its coast. The Owenmore River , the Garavogue River and the Moy Rivers drain the county, as well as three large lakes: Lough Arrow, Lough Gill and Lough Gara.
Green Sod Ireland Protected Land County Map (small)
 
 
Land in Co. Sligo
Population ¹ :
Density		 60.894
33.14 person / km²
Size ² : 1.838 km² ( 183.752 ha)
2.19 % of the land in Ireland *
Farmland ² : 1.103 km² ( 110.346 ha)
1.32 % of the land in Ireland *
Coastline ³ : 195 km
3.08 % of the Coastline of Ireland *
soft coast: 132 km
2.08 % of the Coastline of Ireland *
at risk: 59 km
0.93 % of the Coastline of Ireland *
Protected Land * :
There are 19 SACs, 10 SPAs, 3 natural heritage areas, and 2 nature reserves run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, 4 Ramsar sites, and 16 Natura 2000 sites.

Common Seal

Phoca vitulina

by Onenn
 
Wildlife in Co. Sligo
Special Wildlife *:
Flora: fringed sandwort, moss campion
Fauna: pine marten, Canada goose, long-tailed duck, sanderling, crossbill
Insects: scarce blue-tailed damselfly, Irish damselfly, keeled skimmer, black-tailed skimmer, black-tailed skimmer, nebria brevicollis, nebria rufescens, nebria salina, notiophilus aquaticus, notiophilus biguttatus, notiophilus germinyi, carabus arvensis, carabus granulatus, carabus problematicus, loricera pilicornis, clivina fossor, patrobus assimilis, trechus obtusus, bembidion atrocaeruleum, bembidion deletum, pterostichus madidus, pterostichus melanarius, pterostichus niger, pterostichus nigrita, pterostichus rhaeticus, abax parallelepipedus, calathus cinctus, calathus fuscipes, olisthopus rotundatus, paranchus albipes, agonum muelleri, badister bullatus, dicheirotrichus gustavii, 10-spot ladybird, eyed ladybird, larch ladybird, cream-spot ladybird, 7-spot ladybird, 14-spot ladybird, 22-spot ladybird
Marine: Melobesia membranacea, Stenogramme interrupta, Odonthalia dentata
Lichens: Abrothallus microspermus, Abrothallus parmeliarum, Arthopyrenia cinereopruinosa, Biatoropsis usnearum, Buellia subdisciformis, Bunodophoron melanocarpum, Calicium glaucellum, Candelariella medians, Catillaria atomarioides, Celothelium ischnobelum, Cladonia subulata, Clauzadea immersa, Clauzadeana macula, Collema polycarpon, Dactylospora parasitica, Degelia plumbea, Farnoldia jurana, Gomphillus calycioides, Heterodermia japonica, Lecania rabenhorstii, Lecanora pulicaris, Lempholemma cladodes, Lempholemma polyanthes, Lepraria caesioalba, Lepraria diffusa diffusa, Lepraria nivalis, Leproplaca xantholyta, Lichenoconium xanthoriae, Lobaria scrobiculata, Marchandiomyces aurantiacus, Marchandiomyces corallinus, Micarea leprosula, Micarea lignaria var. endoleuca, Muellerella lichenicola, Mycoblastus sanguinarius, Nephroma parile, Normandina pulchella, Ochrolechia turneri, Opegrapha dolomitica, Opegrapha parasitica, Parmeliella testacea, Peltigera leucophlebia, Petractis clausa, Phacopsis oxyspora, Phaeospora parasitica, Placopsis lambii, Polyblastia cruenta, Porpidia contraponenda, Porpidia speirea, Pronectria anisospora, Pyrenula laevigata, Racodium rupestre, Rhizocarpon hochstetteri, Sphaerophorus fragilis, Staurothele fissa, Stereocaulon dactylophyllum, Stereocaulon vesuvianum var. nodulosum, Thelidium decipiens, Toninia episema, Toninia verrucarioides, Umbilicaria torrefacta, Usnea flavocardia, Verrucaria aquatilis, Verrucaria calciseda, Verrucaria ditmarsica, Verrucaria halizoa, Xylographa vitiligo
Endangered species *:
Flora: hoary whitlowgrass, alpine meadow-grass, alpine bistort, tea-leaved willow, alpine saw-wort, yellow saxifrage, alpine saxifrage, golden dock, Killarney fern, oak fern, bird cherry, blue-eyed grass
Fauna: little grebe, whooper swan, barnacle goose, eider, great black-backed gull, pied flycatcher
Insects: Irish damselfly, Dingy skipper, robust spreadwing, crescent bluet
Molluscs: plaited door snail, whorl snail

Puffin

Fratercula arctica

by Onenn

¹ ² ³ * Click here to see Sources.