![Knockan Crag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Knockan_Crag.jpg)
The North West Highlands Geopark is a
geopark
A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant sciences.
In 20 ...
in the
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
. Awarded
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
geopark status in 2004,
it was Scotland's first geopark, featuring some of the oldest
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
s in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, around 3,000 million years old. The park contains many notable
geological
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...
features, such as the
Moine Thrust Belt
The Moine Thrust Belt or Moine Thrust Zone is a linear tectonics, tectonic feature in the Scottish Highlands which runs from Loch Eriboll on the north coast south-west to the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye. The thrust belt consists of a s ...
and
Smoo Cave
Smoo Cave is a large combined sea cave and freshwater cave in Durness in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. The cave name is thought to originate from the Norse '' or '', meaning a hole or hiding-place.
Geology
Smoo Cave was formed within Earl ...
and covers an area of around .
Geography
The park is located in the extreme north-west of
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 ...
and includes parts of
Sutherland
Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...
and
Wester Ross
Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to the ...
, including
Cape Wrath
Cape Wrath ( gd, Am Parbh, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in mainland Britain.
The cape is separated from the rest of the mai ...
. The area is one of the most sparsely inhabited in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, and is largely treeless. The park's eastern boundary generally follows the Moine Thrust Belt, otherwise the park is generally bounded by the north and west coasts of Scotland, with a few islands included in the park, such as the
Summer Isles.
[
]
Notable features
The Moine Thrust Belt was formed between 430 and 500 million years ago. The belt includes Precambrian
The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...
Moine rocks which have been pushed on top of younger Cambrian
The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...
and Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...
rocks, much to the surprise of Victorian geologists. A debate ensued between prominent geologists of the time. Roderick Murchison
Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet, (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871) was a Scotland, Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigat ...
and Archibald Geikie
Sir Archibald Geikie (28 December 183510 November 1924) was a Scottish geologist and writer.
Early life
Geikie was born in Edinburgh in 1835, the eldest son of Isabella Thom and her husband James Stuart Geikie, a musician and music critic. T ...
argued that the Moine rocks must in fact be younger than the rocks beneath them, a point of view opposed by James Nicol and Charles Lapworth
Charles Lapworth FRS FGS (20 September 1842 – 13 March 1920) was a headteacher and an English geologist who pioneered faunal analysis using index fossils and identified the Ordovician period.
Biography
Charles Lapworth was born at Faring ...
. The controversy, the so-called " Highlands Controversy", was resolved by Ben Peach
Benjamin Neeve Peach (6 September 1842 – 29 January 1926) was a British geologist.
Life
Peach was born at Gorran Haven in Cornwall on 6 September 1842 to Jemima Mabson and Charles William Peach, an amateur British naturalist and geologist. ...
and John Horne
John Horne PRSE FRS FRSE FEGS LLD (1 January 1848 – 30 May 1928) was a Scottish geologist. He served as President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1915 to 1919.
Life
Horne was born on 1 January 1848, in Campsie, Stirlingshire, the ...
who found that the Moine rocks had been pushed some 70 kilometres east over the top of the younger rocks by tectonic
Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents k ...
action. This was the first thrust fault
A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks.
Thrust geometry and nomenclature
Reverse faults
A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less.
If ...
to be discovered. A monument to the pair is located within the park. Its inscription reads: ''To Ben N Peach and John Horne who played the foremost part in unravelling the geological structure of the North West Highlands 1883–1897. An international tribute. Erected 1930''. The fault can be seen most easily at a line of cliffs named Knockan Crag
Knockan Crag ( gd, Creag a' Chnocain, "crag of the small hill")The Story of Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve. p. ii. lies within the North West Highlands Geopark in the Assynt region of Scotland north of Ullapool. During the nineteenth cent ...
. This crag is where the Moine is where the apparent anomaly in the ages of the rocks was first seen, and is where the thrust belt was first identified. A visitor's centre is located here, as well as several pieces of sculpture created by modern artists.
The area contains a number of limestone caves. The most well known of these is Smoo Cave
Smoo Cave is a large combined sea cave and freshwater cave in Durness in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. The cave name is thought to originate from the Norse '' or '', meaning a hole or hiding-place.
Geology
Smoo Cave was formed within Earl ...
, a large sea cave near Durness
Durness ( gd, Diùranais) is a village and civil parish in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north coast of the country in the traditional county of Sutherland, around north of Inverness. The area is remote, and the parish is ...
. This cave is unique within the UK in that its outer chamber was formed by the action of seawater, while the inner chambers were formed by fresh water. Its entrance 15 metres high, is the largest entrance of any sea cave in the British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
. Archaeological excavations have found evidence of human habitation dating back to the Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
period. The cave became well known after Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
visited it in 1814. Another notable cave site is the Inchnadamph
Inchnadamph is a hamlet in Assynt, Sutherland, Scotland. The name is an anglicisation of the Gaelic name Innis nan Damh meaning 'meadow of the stags'. Assynt is a remote area with a low population density. Inchnadamph contains a few houses, a l ...
Bone Caves. At these caves, remains of Eurasian lynx
The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is a medium-sized wild cat widely distributed from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits temperate and boreal forests up to an eleva ...
, brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...
, Arctic fox
The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in co ...
, reindeer
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
and polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
s have been found; as well as human remains dated between 4,515 and 4,720 years old. Uamh an Claonaite
Uamh an Claonaite (Scottish Gaelic: Cave of the sloping rock) is the longest cave in Scotland. It consists of a series of dry passages and a series of at least six sumps which have been dived over the years.
The attempt by members of the Gram ...
, Scotland's longest cave is partly located below these Bone Caves.
Also located in the park is Cape Wrath
Cape Wrath ( gd, Am Parbh, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in mainland Britain.
The cape is separated from the rest of the mai ...
, the northwesternmost point on the Scottish mainland, which features the highest vertical cliffs in mainland Britain.[ Another feature is the Old Man of Stoer, a sandstone sea stack located off the Point of Stoer in ]Assynt
Assynt ( gd, Asainn or ) is a sparsely populated area in the south-west of Sutherland, lying north of Ullapool on the west coast of Scotland. Assynt is known for its landscape and its remarkable mountains, which have led to the area, along with ...
.
Mountains
The Moine Thrust Belt is regarded as the northwest boundary of the Caledonian mountain belt. However, a few mountains exist within the park, some of which are well known. The highly distinctive Suilven
Suilven ( gd, Sùilebheinn) is a mountain in Scotland. Lying in a remote area in the west of Sutherland, it rises from a wilderness landscape of moorland, bogs, and lochans known as Inverpolly National Nature Reserve. Suilven forms a steep-sid ...
is perhaps the most notable mountain within the park, and its image is used in promotional material. Other mountains to be found here include Stac Pollaidh
Stac Pollaidh (IPA: s̪t̪ʰaʰkˈpʰɔɫ̪ais a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The peak displays a rocky crest of Torridonian sandstone, with many pinnacles and steep gullies. The ridge was exposed to weathering as a nunatak ...
, Canisp
Canisp (Scottish Gaelic: ''Canasp'') is a mountain in the far north west of Scotland. It is situated in the parish of Assynt, in the county of Sutherland, north of the town of Ullapool. Canisp reaches a height of and qualifies as a Corbett an ...
, Quinag
, photo = Quinag.jpg
, photo_caption = Quinag in the distance from the western end of Loch Assynt
, elevation = Sàil Gharbh: 808 m (2,651 ft)Sàil Ghorm: 776 m (2,546 ft)Spidean Coinich: 764 m (2,506 ft)
, prominence = ''c.'' 553 m, 158 m, 19 ...
, Foinaven
–
, photo = Foinaven_from_Achriesgill.jpg
, photo_caption = Foinaven seen from Achriesgill on Loch Inchard
, elevation_m = 911
, elevation_ref =
, prominence_m = 690
, prominence_ref =
, parent_peak = Ben Klibreck
, listing = Mari ...
and Arkle.
Geology
The park contains a wide variety of different types of rock:
* Lewisian Gneiss
The Lewisian complex or Lewisian gneiss is a suite of Precambrian metamorphic rocks that outcrop in the northwestern part of Scotland, forming part of the Hebridean Terrane and the North Atlantic Craton. These rocks are of Archaean and Paleopr ...
– Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...
s, ranging from pink to grey-green in colour, depending on the rock they were originally formed from. Around 3,000 million years old, making them the oldest rocks in Britain, and, along with similar rocks in Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, the Lofoten Islands
Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvæ ...
of Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, and Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, among the oldest in Europe.
* Torridonian
In geology, the term Torridonian is the informal name for the Torridonian Group, a series of Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic arenaceous and argillaceous sedimentary rocks, which occur extensively in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The st ...
Sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
– red-brown, coarse. Around 1,000 million years old. Many of the area's mountains are composed of this rock.
* Basal Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...
– White to pink quartzite. Some of this contains fossilized worm burrows and is known as ''pipe rock''. c. 500 million years old. Largely located within and around the park's thrust fault
A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks.
Thrust geometry and nomenclature
Reverse faults
A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less.
If ...
s.
* Durness Limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
– Pale to dark grey in colour. Around 480 million years old. Also located within and around thrust faults. Often contains caves, such as Smoo Cave and the Inchnadamph Bone Caves.
* Moine Rocks – Metamorphosed sandstone and mudstone
Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...
. Around 980 million years old. Concentrated at the eastern edge of the park, as these rocks tend to be found to the east of the Moine Thrust Belt.
* Igneous rocks – Granite, syenite, porphyry; containing feldspar and quartz. Various ages. A comparatively rare type of rock in the park, which largely contains metamorphic and sedimentary
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic matter, organic particles at Earth#Surface, Earth's surface, followed by cementation (geology), cementation. Sedimentati ...
rocks.
See also
* International Network of Geoparks
UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are geoparks certified by the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council as meeting all the requirements for belonging to the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). The GGN is both a network of geoparks and the agency of the United Nati ...
* List of Geoparks
* Sustainable tourism
Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for economic, social and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs of host communities. Su ...
Footnotes
External links
*
{{coord, 58, 7, N, 5, 8, W, region:GB_scale:100000, display=title
Parks in Highland (council area)
2004 establishments in Scotland
Geology of Scotland
Geoparks in Scotland
Global Geoparks Network members