thumb|[[Glendun, one of the Glens of Antrim in Northern Ireland]]

A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Glens are appreciated by tourists for their tranquility and scenery.

Etymology

thumb |Raven's Craig Glen located in [[Dalry, North Ayrshire, Scotland]]

The word is Goidelic in origin: gleann in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, glion in Manx. The designation "glen" also occurs often in place names. In Manx, glan is also to be found meaning glen. It is cognate with Welsh glyn. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower than a strath".

Examples in Northern England, such as Glenridding, Westmorland, or Glendue, near Haltwhistle, Northumberland, are thought to derive from the aforementioned Cumbric cognate, or another Brythonic equivalent. This likely underlies some examples in Southern Scotland. Glenn Norman in Canada; Glendale, Glen Ellen and Klamath Glen in California, Glenview and Homer Glen in Illinois, and Glenrock in Wyoming; Glenview, Glen Waverley, Glen Eira, Glengowrie, Glen Huntly and Glen Forrest in Australia; and Glenorchy, Glendowie, Glen Eden, Glenledi, Glenomaru, Glen Massey, Glen Murray, Glenleith, Glendhu Bay, Glenbrook, and Glen Innes in New Zealand.

In the Finger Lakes region of New York State, the southern ends of Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake in particular are etched with glens, although in this region the term "glen" refers most frequently to a narrow gorge, as opposed to a wider valley or strath. The steep hills surrounding these lakes are filled with loose shale from glacial moraines. This material has eroded over the past 10,000 years to produce rocky glens (e.g., Watkins Glen, Fillmore Glen State Park and Treman State Parks) and waterfalls (e.g., Taughannock Falls) as rainwater has flowed down toward the lakes below.

Scotland

Many place-names in Scotland with "glen" derive from the Gaelic gleann ("deep valley"), with some being from the cognates in the Brittonic languages Cumbric and Pictish or from the Gaelic loanword glen in Scots.

  • Glenalmond, Perthshire
  • Glen Affric, Inverness-shire
  • Glenbarton, Dumfriesshire - from Gaelic *gleann-Breatann, or else Brittonic glyn-Brython ("Briton valley").
  • Glencairn, Dumfriesshire
  • Glen Coe, Argyll
  • Glencortas, Fife - from Gaelic gleann + possibly coirthe ("standing stone") + as (locational suffix).
  • Glen Etive, Argyll
  • Glengaber, Dumfriesshire
  • Glenkens, Kirkcudbrightshire - Brittonic glyn + Ken (river name).

Note that some place-names in England with "Glen", such as Glen Parva in Leicestershire, are actually more likely to derive from river-names named with Brittonic glan ("shining").

Wales

Some place-names in Wales contain the element glyn ("valley").

  • Emlyn, Pembrokeshire, from am-glyn ("at the valley")
  • Glynceiriog, Denbighshire