An Sgùrr is the highest point on the island of
Eigg
Eigg ( ; ) is one of the Small Isles in the Scotland, Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the island of Isle of Skye, Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With ...
in Scotland's
Small Isles
The Small Isles () are a small archipelago in the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. They lie south of Skye and north of Mull and Ardnamurchan – the most westerly point of mainland Scotland.
Until 1891, Canna, Rùm a ...
. It was formed 59 million years ago; the result of one of the last eruptions of a volcano, the core of which now forms the
Isle of Rùm. Thick viscous
pitchstone
Pitchstone is a dark coloured, glassy volcanic rock formed when felsic lava or magma cools quickly. Since it is a volcanic glass, pitchstone may have a conchoidal fracture. Pitchstones may also contain phenocrysts, in which case it is a form of ...
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 Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...
of
rhyodacitic composition flowed out, filling a river valley. The lava cooled and formed
column-like structures, similar to those at
Giant's Causeway
The Giant's Causeway () is an area of approximately 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcano, volcanic fissure eruption, part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province active in the region during the Paleogene period. ...
.
The surrounding
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 ...
was softer than the pitchstone, and hence the valley became inverted, with the pitchstone withstanding the erosion far better than the surrounding rock. An Sgùrr is thus an
inselberg
An inselberg or monadnock ( ) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain.
In Southern Africa, a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, an ...
.
The mountain appears most strikingly in the view of the eastern end, known as the Nose of Sgùrr.
The peak is most frequently climbed from the ferry terminal at
Galmisdale on the southeast corner of Eigg. A rough track heads west, passing between the northern side of An Sgùrr and the shoreline. About three-quarters of the way along the side of the ridge there is a
gully
A gully is a landform
A landform is a land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. They may be natural or may be anthropogenic (caused or influenced by human activity). Landforms together make up a given ter ...
; a fairly easy
scramble
Scramble, Scrambled, or Scrambling may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Scramble'' (film), a 1970 British children's sports drama
* ''Scrambled'' (film), a 2023 American comedy-drama
* ''Scrambled!'', a British children' ...
allows access to the summit ridge. The route now almost doubles back on itself, heading east to reach the
summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...
, which is crowned by a
trig point
A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity.
The station is usually set up by a map ...
. The climb, from ferry terminal to the Nose of An Sgùrr and back, takes at least four hours.
An Sgùrr is also known as the Sgurr of Eigg.
References
External links
Geology of Eigg* Computer-generated virtual panorama
NorthSouth
{{DEFAULTSORT:An Sgurr (Eigg)
Marilyns of Scotland
Mountains and hills of the Scottish islands
Mountains and hills of Highland (council area)
Volcanic plugs of Scotland
Paleogene volcanism
Eigg