Black Rock Gorge is a deep and narrow cleft in

Old Red Sandstone The Old Red Sandstone is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the northeastern seaboard of North America. It also exte ...

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...

through which the

Allt Graad The Allt Graad (: Ugly Stream) or River Glass is a river in Easter Ross, Highland, Scotland. It is named on Ordnance Survey maps variously as Allt Graad and River Glass. It has also been known as the "Allt Grande", and the archaic Anglicization, "A ...

(also known as the 'River Glass') flows in

Easter Ross Easter Ross ( gd, Ros an Ear) is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland. The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituenc ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It was caused by rapids heavily burdened with sediment being carried upwards as part of the great

Post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...

. It lies a few kilometres from

Evanton Evanton ( gd, Baile Eòghainn or gd, Am Baile Ùr) is a small village in Easter Ross, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It lies between the River Sgitheach and the Allt Graad, is north of Inverness, some south-west of Alness, and ...

, at the edge of the Evanton Wood in the traditional territory of the

Clan Munro Clan Munro (; gd, Clann an Rothaich ) is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically the clan was based in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional origins of the clan give its founder as Donald Munro who came from the north of Ireland and ...

. The Black Rock Gorge is approximately 1.5 km in length as shown on 1:50 000 Ordnance Survey mapping and reaches 36 metres (120 feet) in depth. It attracts a substantial amount of tourism, and there is a camping site nearby. The gorge is the subject of local Gaelic myth, in which a local noblewoman, the

Lady of Balconie The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Infor ...

, is lured into its depths by a mysterious man, thought to be the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

. Ever since, it is said, the cries which she utters can be heard from the top. In April 2004, ten days of filming took place in the area for the movie ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' and the gorge is the setting for one scene.Black Rock Gorge
Veritaserum Also James Robertson's 2006 novel ''

The Testament of Gideon Mack ''The Testament of Gideon Mack'' is a novel written by the Scottish author James Robertson, first published in 2006. It pays conscious homage to ideas and themes originally explored with powerful effect in the novel ''The Private Memoirs and Co ...

'' is inspired by Black Rock Gorge.

References

;Sources * Omand, Donald (ed.), ''The Ross and Cromarty Book'', (Golspie, 1984)

External links

Illustration of Black Rock Gorge
Geology of Scotland Ross and Cromarty Canyons and gorges of Scotland Scottish mythology Landforms of Highland (council area) {{Highland-geo-stub