generically as tarns, examples include and on Snowdon, within the and on . There are two large wholly man-made bodies of water in the area, and whilst numerous of the natural lakes have had their levels artificially raised to different degrees. reservoir and Power Station's are two cases where natural tarns have been dammed as part of pumped storage hydro-electric schemes. A fuller list of the lakes within the area is found at List of lakes of Wales. Coast The national park meets the Irish Sea coast within Cardigan Bay between the Dovey estuary in the south and the estuary. The larger part of that frontage is characterised by dune systems, the largest of which are and . These two locations sport two of the largest sand/shingle spits in Wales. The major indentations of the Dovey, and estuaries are characterised by large expanses of intertidal sands and coastal marsh which are especially important for wildlife (- see natural history section). The northern tip of the national park extends to the north coast of Wales at Point, west of where precipitous cliffs have led to the road and railway negotiating the spot in tunnel. Settlements There are only three towns within the park boundary though several more immediately beyond it. is the most populous followed by Bala on the eastern boundary and then Harlech overlooking Tremadog Bay. More populous than these is the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog which is within an exclave, that is to say it is surrounded by the national park but excluded from it whilst the towns of Tywyn and Barmouth on the Cardigan Bay coast are within coastal exclaves. in the east, Machynlleth in the south and Porthmadog and Penrhyndeudraeth in the west are immediately beyond the boundary but still identified with the park, indeed the last of these hosts the headquarters of the Snowdonia National Park Authority. Similarly the local economies of towns of Conwy, Bethesda, and Llanberis in the north are inseparably linked to the national park as they provide multiple visitor services. The lower terminus of the Snowdon Mountain Railway is at Llanberis. Though adjacent to it, and are less obviously linked to the park. There are numerous smaller settlements within the national park, prominent amongst which are the eastern 'gateway' village of , Aberdovey on the Dovey estuary and the small village of each of which attract large numbers of visitors. Other sizeable