De Vuurberg
A view towards Eigg © A. van Roekel
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SCOTLAND IN 4 DAYS:
WEST HIGHLAND LINE & ISLE OF SKYE

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  River Spean, © A. van Roekel

 
You will be able to see the ferocious river Spean running through the deep valley. The river created the impressive Spean Gorge, that can be seen on different levels from your comfortable seat. The river has cut itself through the Highland Schists: the relatively older Moine Schists and younger Dalradian Schists, famous because of Hutton's Unconformity. This type of metamorphic rock used to be slate, transformed into schist under high temperature conditions, deep in the earth’s crust. In the Highlands, intrusions of igneous rock, mainly granite, are found all over the area.

  Rocks © A. van Roekel

 
The Scottish – and Scandinavian - mountains were formed during the Caledonian orogeny, that took place during three geological periods: Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian. The mountain building (orogeny) of Scotland mainly took place in the Devonian period. At the end of the Caledonian orogeny, the plates (and continents they ‘carried’) Baltica and Avalonia (containing parts of North-America and Europe incl. the British Isles) were pushed by sea-floor spreading towards Laurentia and collision followed.
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© Annemieke van Roekel, 2007. Niets van deze website mag worden vermenigvuldigd of openbaar gemaakt door middel van druk, microfilm, fotokopie, plaatsing van teksten en/of afbeeldingen op andere websites of op welke wijze dan ook zonder voorafgaande schriftelijke toestemming van de auteur en de betreffende tijdschriftredacties.
Laatste wijziging: 27 mei 2007
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