Canisp (

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 ...

: ''Canasp'') is a mountain in the far north west of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It is situated in the parish of

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 ...

, in the county of Sutherland, north of the town of

Ullapool Ullapool (; gd, Ulapul ) is a village and port located in Northern Scotland. Ullapool has a population of around 1,500 inhabitants. It is located around northwest of Inverness in Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands. Despite its modest size, ...

. Canisp reaches a height of and qualifies as a Corbett and Marilyn hill. The mountain's name translates from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

language as ''“White Mountain”''.

Geography and geology

Canisp is an isolated mountain that stands in the Glencanisp Forest, a large rock and water wilderness. It has a

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

of . Canisp has little vegetation, even on its lower slopes large areas of

Gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...

(one of the oldest rocks in the world) are visible on the surface. Canisp stands in a geologically important area. It is part of 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 is typical of many of the Assynt hills in that it rises from a base of

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 ...

and is composed of

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 ...

capped by Cambrian

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 tec ...

giving the hill a distinctive light grey crown.Canisp was formed when surrounding rocks were eroded during an episode of glaciation, while the ridge was left poking above the level of the ice sheet, as a nunatak. Compared to the other Assynt hills, Canisp does not show any distinct topographic qualities. It has a symmetrical profile with two main ridges running northwest and southeast. Its southwestern flank has crags and

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. Talus deposits typically ...

and falls steeply into Glen Canisp, while its northeastern slopes also fall precipitously to the

lochan ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spellin ...

studded moorland. Canisp is less visited than the nearby smaller mountain of

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- ...

, with its famous jagged summit ridge, which stands to the west and is lower in elevation. Canisp stands on the lands of the Glencanisp and Drumrunie Estates, a tract of land original owned by the Vestey family. In 2005, the Assynt Foundation, a group of around 900 local residents, purchased the estate for £2,900,000.

Ascents

The most popular ascent of Canisp starts at the north end of

Loch Awe Loch Awe (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Obha'') is a large body of freshwater in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such ...

() where there is car parking and a footbridge to cross the River Loanan as it leaves the loch. The route gains the summit by the south east ridge. This is the shortest and quickest route, but it is still long, almost completely devoid of paths, and defended by stones, heather and bog. Another ascent from the east which also uses the southeast ridge starts at Stronchrubie where there is also a footbridge over the Loanan. Longer ascents are also possible from

Lochinver Lochinver (''Loch an Inbhir'' in Gaelic) is a village that is located at the head of the sea loch Loch Inver, on the coast in the Assynt district of Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. A few miles northeast is Loch Assynt which is the source of ...

and Ledmore Junction, both these routes utilise the path between the two places that traverses the length of Glen Canisp before leaving the glen to climb the mountain by either its northwest ridge (from Lochinver) or southeast ridge (from Ledmore). The route from

gains the northwest ridge by a path from Loch na Gainimh and is regarded by

Hamish Brown Hamish Brown M.B.E. FRSGS is a professional writer, lecturer and photographer specialising in mountain and outdoor topics. He is best known for his walking exploits in the Scottish Highlands, having completed multiple rounds of the Munros and be ...

as the most pleasing way up the mountain. The summit of Canisp is marked by a large stone built wind shelter. The view from the top of the mountain is regarded as one of the finest in Scotland giving all round views taking in the surrounding loch studded moorland,

The Minch The Minch ( gd, An Cuan Sgitheanach, ', ', '), also called North Minch, is a strait in north-west Scotland, separating the north-west Highlands and the northern Inner Hebrides from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. It was known as ("Sco ...

beyond Lochinver and most of the well known mountains of Assynt.

References

* The Corbetts and Other Scottish Hill, (SMC Guide) * Climbing the Corbetts, Hamish Brown,

External links

BBC News on purchase of Glen Canisp Estate

Geology of NW Scotland
{{Coord, 58.120906, -5.052849, display=title Corbetts Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands

Geography and geology

Ascents

See also

References

External links