* Snowdon cross over *

Snowdonia (Welsh: Eryri) is a region in north Wales and a national park of 823 square miles (2,130 km²) in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.

The English name for the area derives from Snowdon, which is the highest mountain in Wales at 3,560 ft (1,085 m). In Welsh, the area is named Eryri. One assumption is that the name is derived from eryr("eagle"), but others state that it means quite simply Highlands, as leading Welsh scholar Sir Ifor Williamsproved.^[ In the Middle Ages the title Prince of Wales and Lord of Snowdonia (Tywysog Cymru ac Arglwydd Eryri) was used by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd; his grandfather Llywelyn Fawr used the title Prince of north Walesand Lord of Snowdonia.Prior to the designation of the boundaries of the National Park, the term "Snowdonia" was generally used to refer to a much smaller area, namely the upland area of northern Gwynedd centred on the Snowdon massif, whereas the national park covers an area more than twice that size extending far to the south intoMeirionnydd. This is apparent in books published prior to 1951 such as the classic travelogue Wild Wales byGeorge Borrow (1862) and The Mountains of Snowdonia by H. Carr & G. Lister (1925). F. J. North, as editor of the book Snowdonia (1949), states "When the Committee delineated provisional boundaries, they included areas some distance beyond Snowdonia proper." The traditional Snowdonia thus includes the ranges of Snowdon and its satellites, the Glyderau, the Carneddau and the Moel Siabod group. It does not include the hills to the south of Maentwrog. As Eryri, this area has a unique place in Welsh history, tradition and culture.

Snowdonia National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) was established in 1951 as the third National Park in Britain, following the Peak District and the Lake District. It covers 827 square miles (2,140 km²), and has 37 miles (60 km) of coastline.
More than 26,000 people live within the Park, of whom about 62% can speak at least some Welsh. The Park attracts over 6 million visitors annually, split almost equally between day and staying visitors, making it the third most visited National Park in England and Wales.
Whilst most of the land is either open or mountainous land, there is a significant amount of agricultural activitywithin the Park.
Since the local government re-organisation of 1998, the Park lies partly in the county of Gwynedd, and partly in thecounty borough of Conwy. It is governed by the 18-member Snowdonia National Park Authority; 9 members are appointed by Gwynedd, 3 by Conwy, and the remaining 6 by the National Assembly for Wales to represent the national interest.
Unusually, Snowdonia National Park has a hole in the middle, around the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, a slatequarrying centre. This was deliberately excluded from the Park when it was set up in order to allow the development of new light industry to replace the decimated slate industry. (There is a similar situation in the Peak District National Park where the boundaries were drawn to exclude large built-up areas and industrial sites from the park with the town of Buxton and the adjacent quarries outside but surrounded on three sides by the Park.)
The Snowdonia Society is a registered charity formed in 1967. It is a voluntary group of people with an interest in the area and its protection.