De Vuurberg
A view towards Eigg © A. van Roekel
Home Milieu & Energie Gezondheid & Wetenschap Duurzaam Bouwen Photo Gallery
Geologie & Reizen Landbouw & Voeding Natuurbescherming Eilanden Geo-educatie



SCOTLAND IN 4 DAYS:
WEST HIGHLAND LINE & ISLE OF SKYE

PAGE 4/5

  A view towards Eigg © A. van Roekel

 
The ferry of Caledonian MacBrayne won’t take you to Rùm and Eigg during the winter time. But on your trip from Mallaig to the Isle of Skye, you will have a wonderful view on Eigg, one of ‘The Small Isles’ as they are also called. The ferry takes you to Armadale on Skye, where a bus is waiting for you. Don't buy a return ticket for the ferry, because then you will have a free choice in returning the same way by ferry, or to take the Citylink bus that takes you right from Skye’s capital Portree, via the bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh, to Glasgow or Inverness, also in weekends.
Back to the geology part! As you will find the eldest rocks in the British Isles in the Nortwestern Highlands, west from the Major Thrust (reaching from Kyle of Lochalsh to the NNE), and the Outer Hebrides. From Skye, we can see the Outer Hebrides, but it would take you quite a different journey from Mallaig to reach them by boat!

  A view from the Trotternish Peninsula (Skye) to the Outer Hebrides (Isle of Lewis)

 
The biggest island of the Outer Hebrides is Lewis (Eilean Leodhais in Gaelic), which gave its name to one of the eldest rocks found on the European continent, the Lewisian Gneiss. This type of rock is a result of a high pressure baking process deep down in the continental crust. Lewisian Gneiss is almost three billion years old, originating from the Precambrian era. During that period, primitive life evolved on earth, such as bacteria and other one cell organisms. Similar rocks we can find in Greenland and Newfoundland. This is not a coincidence, as all these pieces of continent once belonged to one landmass that drifted apart as a result of tectonic forces. On the photo a view to the Outer Hebrides (Isle of Lewis) from the Trotternish Peninsula on Skye.
Next page
Previous page
© 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
[home] [top] [contact] [disclaimer]