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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 neighbouring Coigach, being designated as the Assynt-Coigach National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland. The western part of Assynt has many distinctively shaped mountains, including Quinag, Canisp, Suilven and Ben More Assynt, that rise steeply from the surrounding "cnoc and lochan" scenery. These can often appear higher than their actual height would indicate due to their steep sides and the contrast with the moorland from which they rise. Many of the most distinctive peaks such as Suilven were formed during the last Ice Age, when they were left exposed above the ice sheet as nunataks, and they now remain as inselbergs of highly eroded Torridonian sandstone sitting on a bedrock of much older Lewisian gneiss. The Moine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben More Assynt
Ben More Assynt ( gd, Beinn Mhòr Asaint) is a mountain in Assynt in the far north-west of Scotland, north-northeast of Ullapool. The name translates as "big mountain of Assynt", and with a height of it is the highest point in Sutherland. The mountain lies in the east of Assynt, set apart from the area's better known and more dramatic (but lower) mountains such as Suilven. It is hidden from the traveller on the A837 road by the adjacent Munro of Conival, and the best views of it are obtained from nearby summits. The higher slopes of the mountain are capped by light coloured quartzite boulders, giving it a distinctive appearance. Over of land around Ben More Assynt have been declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of their geological interest and rare plant species. Geography Ben More Assynt is situated on a ridge of high ground which runs roughly north to south on the east side of the A837 road near Inchnadamph. This ridge forms part of the main north ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 lodge, a hotel and a historic old church, graveyard and mausoleum. History Bone Caves The 'Bone Caves' of Inchnadamph contain relics of Eurasian lynx, brown bear, Arctic fox, reindeer (dated to 47,000 BCE), the only evidence of polar bears so far found in Scotland, and human skeletons dated to the 3rd millennium BCE. Murray, W.H. (1977) ''The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland.'' London. Collins. Murray states the skeletons were dated to 6000 BC. The skeleton of a bear thought to be 11,000 years old or more was removed from the caves in 2008. The bones were found by cavers in 1995, deep in the '' Uamh an Claonaite'' system and have been examined by the National Museums Scotland to determine the age and species. It is pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 combined into Ross and Cromarty) to the south and the Atlantic to the north and west. Like its southern neighbour Ross-shire, Sutherland has some of the most dramatic scenery in Europe, especially on its western fringe where the mountains meet the sea. These include high sea cliffs, and very old mountains composed of Precambrian and Cambrian rocks. The name ''Sutherland'' dates from the era of Norwegian Viking rule and settlement over much of the Highlands and Islands, under the rule of the jarl of Orkney. Although it contains some of the northernmost land in the island of Great Britain, it was called ' ("southern land") from the standpoint of Orkney and Caithness. In Gaelic, the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: ' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 series of thrust faults that branch off the Moine Thrust itself. Topography, Topographically, the belt marks a change from rugged, terraced mountains with steep sides sculptured from weathered igneous rock, igneous, sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic rocks in the west to an extensive landscape of rolling hills over a metamorphic rock base to the east. Mountains within the belt display complexly folded and faulted layers and the width of the main part of the zone varies up to , although it is significantly wider on Skye. Discovery The presence of metamorphic gneisses and schists lying apparently stratigraphically above sedimentary rocks of lower Paleozoic age in the Northwest Highlands had been known since the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 and Marilyn hill. The mountain's name translates from the Old Norse 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 of . Canisp has little vegetation, even on its lower slopes large areas of Gneiss (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 and is typical of many of the Assynt hills in that it rises from a base of Lewisian Gneiss and is composed of Torridonian sandstone capped by Cambrian quartzite giving the hill a distinctive light grey crown.Canisp was formed when surrounding rocks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coigach
Coigach () is a peninsula north of Ullapool, in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The area consists of a traditional crofting and fishing community of a couple of hundred houses located between mountain and shore on a peninsula looking over the Summer Isles and the sea. The main settlement is Achiltibuie. Like its northerly neighbour, Assynt in Sutherland, Coigach has mountains which rise sharply from quiet, lochan-studded moorland, and a highly indented rocky coast with many islands, bays and headlands. The highest summit is Ben Mor Coigach at 743 metres; the distinctive profile of Stac Pollaidh is the other main peak within Coigach. The scenic qualities of Coigach, along with neighbouring Assynt, have led to the area being designated as the ''Assynt-Coigach National Scenic Area'', one of 40 such areas in Scotland. The name is derived from the Gaelic for "five" or "fifths", and refers to the five townships of Achduart, Achnacarinan, Acheninver, Achnahair ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ardvreck Castle
Ardvreck Castle is a castle, now ruinous, standing on a rocky promontory in Loch Assynt, Sutherland, Scotland, UK. The structure dates from about 1490 and is associated with the then landowners, the Macleods of Assynt. History of Ardvreck The castle was built in the 15th century by the MacLeods of Assynt. It replaced Assynt Castle which was four miles north-west of Inchnadamph. Ardvreck is notable as the place where the royalist James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was handed over in 1650 to the Covenanter forces by MacLeod, Laird of Assynt after the Battle of Carbisdale. The true history of this event is unclear. One account is that MacLeod, loyal to the Covenanters, arrested the weary, fleeing, Montrose and held him. Another is that he provided comfortable shelter, but betrayed Montrose for a £25,000 reward. Clan Mackenzie attacked and captured Ardvreck Castle in 1672, and then took control of the Assynt lands. In 1726 they constructed a more modern manor house nearby, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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, 192 m , listing = Corbett, Marilyn (both x3) , translation = Little milk pail , language = Gaelic , pronunciation = , location = Assynt, Scotland , range = , coordinates = , range_coordinates = , grid_ref_UK = NC209292 , topo = OS ''Landranger'' 15 , type = , first_ascent = , easiest_route = Quinag ( gd, A’ Chuineag) is an 808 m high mountain range in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands, with an undulating series of peaks along its Y-shaped crest. The name Quinag is an anglicisation of the Gaelic name ''Cuinneag'', a milk pail, reflecting its distinctive shape. Geologically, Quinag is made of Torridonian sandstone, resting on a substrate of Lewisian gneiss. The highest peaks are capped by a thin skin of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Grampian Speleological Group The Grampian Speleological Group is the oldest caving club in Scotland, having been founded in 1961. It is also the largest, with members exploring caves across Britain and the world. See also *Caving in the United Kingdom References External ... to excavate a nearby sinkhole, Rana Hole, and connect into the final chambers from above achieved its aim in December 2007. The length of the cave is and the vertical range is . References External links * http://www.wirralcavinggroup.uk.eu.org/trips/uac.html * http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/arb/scotland/assynt.html * http://www.darkanddeep.co.uk/caving_scotland.asp Caves of Scotland Limestone caves Wild caves Protected areas of Highland (council area) Und ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 century Knockan Crag became the subject of much debate when geologists noted that the Moine schists at the top of the crag appeared to be older than the Cambrian and Ordovician rocks such as Durness limestone lower down. Disagreements over the processes that could have caused this to occur were referred to at the time as the " Highlands Controversy". The argument was primarily between Roderick Murchison and Archibald Geikie on the one hand and James Nicol and Charles Lapworth on the other. Murchison and Geikie believed the sequence was wrong and that the Moine schists must be the younger rocks. The controversy was finally resolved by the work of Ben Peach and John Horne whose 1907 paper on the subject remains a classic text. Peach and Horne d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 strata of the Torridonian Group are particularly well exposed in the district of upper Loch Torridon, a circumstance which suggested the name Torridon Sandstone, first applied to these rocks by James Nicol. Stratigraphically, they lie unconformably on gneisses of the Lewisian complex and their outcrop extent is restricted to the Hebridean Terrane. Rock type The rocks are mainly red and brown sandstones, arkoses and shales with coarse conglomerates locally at the base. Some of the materials of these rocks were derived from the underlying Lewisian gneiss, upon the uneven surface of which they rest, but the bulk of the material was obtained from rocks that are nowhere now exposed. Upon this ancient denuded land surface the Torridonian strata ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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-sided ridge some in length. The highest point, Caisteal Liath ("Grey Castle" in Scottish Gaelic), lies at the northwest end of this ridge. There are two other summits: Meall Meadhonach ("Middle Round Hill") at the central point of the ridge is high, whilst Meall Beag ("Little Round Hill") lies at the southeastern end. Geology Geologically, Suilven is formed of Torridonian sandstone, sitting on a landscape of Lewisian gneiss. The surrounding rocks were eroded during an episode of glaciation. Suilven was covered by the last British and Irish Ice Sheet. Prior research described Suilven and many other mountains in Northwest Scotland as nunataks, but cosmogenic isotope dating of mountaintop erratics has since disproved this hypothesis. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
