In Scottish geography, a Carse (the modern form of older Scots ;

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

or ) is an area of fertile, low-lying (typically

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

) land occupying certain Scottish river valleys, such as that of the

River Forth The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of th ...

Carse of Forth

The Carse of Forth contrasts with the

Ochil Hills The Ochil Hills (; gd, Monadh Ochail is a range of hills in Scotland north of the Forth valley bordered by the towns of Stirling, Alloa, Kinross, Auchterarder and Perth. The only major roads crossing the hills pass through Glen Devon/ Glen ...

to the north, from which it is separated by the

Ochil Fault The Ochil Fault is the geological feature which defines the southern edge of the Ochil Hills escarpment in Scotland. North of the fault, Devonian lava flows and pyroclastic deposits slope gently down, thinning towards the north. These are in pa ...

. The carse is generally so flat that, except in the case of

alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...

s, such as that on which the small town of Alva is situated, it has only reached a height of about 9 metres above sea level at the

, typically two or more miles from the river. In the case of the

, the carse extends some considerable distance above and below

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, where due to constraints such as the

Abbey Craig The Abbey Craig is the hill upon which the Wallace Monument stands, at Causewayhead, just to the north of Stirling, Scotland. Physical geography The Abbey Craig is part of a complex quartz-dolerite intrusion or sill within carboniferous stra ...

to the north and the castle rock, on which the town is based, to the south, it is very narrow. The carse typically offers good agricultural land, however underlying the topsoil and alluvium is glacial boulder clay. In other places, especially in the west, the carse was overlain by

peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s such as

Flanders Moss Flanders Moss ( gd, A’ Mhòine Fhlànrasach ) is an area of raised bog lying in the Carse of Forth in west Stirlingshire, Scotland. The villages of Thornhill and Port of Menteith lie to the north with the villages of Kippen and Buchlyvie lying ...

, much of which has been cleared to improve agriculture.

Other carses

Carse of Gowrie The Carse of Gowrie is a stretch of low-lying country in the southern part of Gowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It stretches for about along the north shore of the Firth of Tay between Perth, Scotland, Perth and Dundee. The area offers high-q ...

, Perthshire, near Blairgowrie * Carse of Lecropt near Bridge of Allan, Stirling *

Carse of Stirling In Scottish geography, a Carse (the modern form of older Scots ; Scottish Gaelic or ) is an area of fertile, low-lying (typically alluvial) land occupying certain Scottish river valleys, such as that of the River Forth. Carse of Forth The C ...

Carse of Ae In Scottish geography, a Carse (the modern form of older Scots ; Scottish Gaelic or ) is an area of fertile, low-lying (typically alluvial) land occupying certain Scottish river valleys, such as that of the River Forth. Carse of Forth The C ...

Carse of Falkirk In Scottish geography, a Carse (the modern form of older Scots ; Scottish Gaelic or ) is an area of fertile, low-lying (typically alluvial) land occupying certain Scottish river valleys, such as that of the River Forth. Carse of Forth The C ...

*Carse of

Blair Drummond Blair Drummond is a small rural community northwest of Stirling in the Stirling district of Scotland, predominantly located along the A84 road. Lying to the north of the River Forth, the community is within the registration county of Perthshire ...

, Stirling *

Friar's Carse Friars' Carse is a mansion house and estate situated (NX 926 850) southeast of Auldgirth on the main road (A76) to Dumfries, Parish of Dunscore, Scotland. The property is located on the west bank of the River Nith and is known for its strong a ...

, Dumfries and Galloway *

Carsphairn Carsphairn ( gd, An Còrsa Feàrna) is a village in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located about halfway between Dalmellington and St John's Town of Dalry, on the A713 road. Carsphairn annua ...

*The Carse (Inverness) *Kinneil Kerse (West Lothian) *Carse of Raddery (Ross and Cromarty) *Carse Knowe (West Lothian) *Kerse (Ayrshire) *East Kerse Mains (West Lothian) *Carsethorn (Kirkcudbright), Dumfries and Galloway *Carse Grey estate near Forfar, plus nearby Carseburn and Carsebank (Angus)

References

Geography of Scotland Landforms {{Topography-stub