Craiglockhart Hill is a combination of two summits, Easter and Wester Craiglockhart, in the suburb of
Craiglockhart
Craiglockhart (; gd, Creag Longairt) is a suburb in the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying between Colinton to the south, Morningside to the east Merchiston to the north east, and Longstone and Kingsknowe to the west. The Water of Leith i ...
,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.
[https://edinburghgeolsoc.org/downloads/rigsleaflet_craiglockharta4.pdf Craiglockart and Edinburgh's Seven Hills]
Easter Craiglockhart Hill's summit is 158m high. In 2004 this hill was designated a
local nature reserve. Wester Craiglockhart Hill has a summit of 175m.
The hills are formed of
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
ic
lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...
and
ash
Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
on sandstone. On part of Wester Craiglockhart an exposed upper lava deposit about 30 metres thick features a central area of well-formed columns. When this lava crystallized, a series of hexagonal cracks produced the
columnar structure
Columnar jointing is a geological structure where sets of intersecting closely spaced fractures, referred to as Joint (geology), joints, result in the formation of a regular array of polygonal Prism (geometry), prisms, or columns. Columnar joint ...
.
The valley between the two summits is called Glenlockhart. The valley took its present form over 17,000 years ago when an ice sheet covered the area. Meltwater from the
Water of Leith
The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing near central Edinburgh, Scotland, and flows into the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth.
Name
The name ''Leith'' may be of Britto ...
, then dammed by ice, cut the channel.
References
External links
Walk Highlands, Craiglockhart Hills
{{Edinburgh-geo-stub
Hills of Edinburgh
Parks and commons in Edinburgh