Show interactive timeline
Skye & Raasay Geology
Brian Bell
List of excursions
Cuillin Hills
Excursion Cuillin 1: Camasunary Bay
Aspects covered: Mesozoic sedimentary rocks; Paleocene lavas and dykes; Late Proterozoic ('Torridonian') sedimentary rocks; the Camasunary-Skerryvore Fault; Holocene raised marine deposits; the Coire Uaigneich Granite; hornfelsed basaltic lavas; Ordovician marbles and the Kishorn Thrust; a complex marginal facies of the Cuillin Intrusive Centre; Torridonian sedimentary rocks subjected to high-temperature contact metamorphism and melting.
Grid references mentioned in the text
Excursion Cuillin Hills 2: South Loch Coruisk
Aspects covered: banding, brecciation and layering within the Layered Peridotites; layering and blocks within the Outer Bytownite Gabbros; the glacial morphology, landforms and deposits of the Loch Coruisk basin.
Grid references mentioned in the text
Excursion Cuillin Hills 3: Sròn na Cìche and Coir' a' Ghrunnda
Aspects covered: Paleocene hydrothermally altered plateau lavas; conglomerates interbedded with the lavas; the Outer Gabbros; the Outer Bytownite Troctolites; Layered Peridotites; intrusive tholeiite dolerite sheets; cone-sheets; xenolithic and non-xenolithic peridotite dykes; a breccia pipe; Quaternary glacial landforms and deposits of the SW part of the Cuillin Hills (corries, arêtes, horns, moraines)
Grid references mentioned in the text
Excursion Cuillin Hills 4: Druim Hain to Sgùrr na Stri
Aspects covered: various textural varieties of coarse-grained layered and unlayered basic igneous rocks; the Meall Dearg Granite; cone-sheets; the glacial morphology and landforms of the Loch Coruisk basin
Grid references mentioned in the text
Excursion Cuillin Hills 5: Soay Sound: An Leac
Aspects covered: Paleocene plateau lavas (An Leac Member of the Rubha an Dùnain Formation); aa-textured lava; Paleocene dykes and sills; Triassic (
Grid references mentioned in the text
Excursion Cuillin Hills 6: Coire Uaigneich and Blà-bheinn
Aspects covered: Glacial and post-glacial topography; hornfelsed Middle Jurassic
Grid references mentioned in the text
Excursion Cuillin Hills 7: Kilmarie to Sligachan
Aspects covered: Mesozoic sedimentary rocks; Paleocene lavas and dykes; Late Proterozoic ('Torridonian') sedimentary rocks; the Camasunary-Skerryvore Fault; Holocene raised marine deposits; the Coire Uaigneich Granite; Ordovician marbles and the Kishorn Thrust; a complex marginal facies of the Paleocene Cuillin Intrusive Centre; Torridonian sedimentary rocks subjected to high-temperature contact metamorphism and melting; granites and related rocks of the Srath na Crèitheach and Western Red Hills ntrusive centres.
Grid references mentioned in the text
Excursion Cuillin Hills 8: Soay Sound: Rubha an Dùnain
Aspects covered: Paleocene basaltic plateau lavas; lateritised tops of lavas; Paleocene dykes of the regional swarm; section views of lava-dominated cliffs; geos (gio or gjá); views of the Cuillin Hills; glacial erratics
Excursion Cuillin Hills 9: Coire Làgan
Aspects covered: hydrothermally altered Paleocene plateau lavas; conglomerates interbedded with the lavas; various units of the Paleocene Cuillin Intrusive Centre: the Outer Gabbros; the Outer Bytownite Troctolites; intrusive tholeiite dolerite sheets; dolerite dykes; cone-sheets; non-xenolithic peridotite dykes; Quaternary glacial landforms (corries, arêtes, horns, roche moutonnées with glacial striae) and glacial deposits of the SW part of the Cuillin Hills.
Excursion Cuillin Hills 10: Sgùrr Dearg and the Inaccessible Pinnacle
Aspects covered: various units of the Paleocene Cuillin Intrusive Centre: the Outer Gabbros; the Outer Bytownite Troctolites; intrusive tholeiite dolerite sheets; dolerite dykes; cone-sheets; xenolithic and non-xenolithic peridotite dykes; Quaternary glacial landforms and deposits of the SW part of the Cuillin Hills (corries, arêtes, horns, trimlines, moraines).
Excursion Cuillin Hills 11: Fionn Choire
Aspects covered: hydrothermally-altered plateau lavas and sedimentary units; silicic pyroclastic rocks (lava-like ignimbrite, tuff, lapilli-tuff, breccia); basic minor intrusions; glacial landforms and deposits of the northern part of the Cuillin Hills
Excursion Cuillin Hills 12 Bruache na Frithe
Aspects covered: large-scale geological features of the Paleocene gabbro-dominated Cuillin Hills, the granite-dominated Red Hills and the lava field of North Skye; Quaternary glacial features (and deposits)
Excursion Cuillin Hills 13: An Garbh-choire
Aspects covered: textural features of the Layered Peridotites; glacial morphology and landforms.
Red Hills
Excursion Red Hills 1: Loch Ainort
Aspects covered: the Beinn Dearg Mhòr Granite; the Loch Ainort Granite; ferrodiorite unit of the Marscoite Suite; the Marsco Granite; the Ruadh Stac and Meall Dearg granites of the Srath na Crèitheach Intrusive Centre; the Outer Bytownite Gabbros of the Cuillin Intrusive Centre; explosion breccias; the Glas-Bheinn Mhòr Granite of the Eastern Red Hills Intrusive Centre.
Excursion Red Hills 1: Moll not currently available
No Grid references
Excursion Red Hills: Glamaig
Excursion Red Hills 4: Marsco
Aspects covered: hydrothermally-altered Paleocene plateau lavas; the Paleocene Glamaig Granite (normal and marginal facies); alkali olivine dolerite dykes of the Beinn Dearg Type; the Glen Sligachan Granite; the Southern Porphyritic Granite; the hybrid (mixed magma) ring-dyke composed of the Marscoite Suite: the Southern Porphyritic Felsite, a ferrodiorite intrusion and the Southern Porphyritic Felsite; xenoliths of Lewisian Gneiss within the ferrodiorite intrusion; the Marsco Granite; (option: the Marsco Summit Gabbro and summit panorama view)
Strath
Excursion Strath 1: Broadford Bay
Aspects covered: Lower Jurassic marine sandstones, siltstones, shales, limestones, including two coral beds, and clastic units with chamosite ooliths; Paleocene dolerite dykes and sills; a composite sill; minor faults.
Excursion Strath 2: Old Kilchrist Manse
Aspects covered: unmetamorphosed and metamorphosed dolerite dykes; folded, contact-metamorphosed Cambro-Ordovician
Excursion Strath 3: Strath Marble Quarries
Aspects covered: details of the Cambro-Ordovician
Excursion Strath 4: Beinn an Dubhaich
Aspects covered: Holocene raised marine deposits at Camas Malag; the Paleocene Beinn an Dubhaich Granite of the Eastern Red Hills Intrusive Centre; Cambro-Ordovician
picrite dyke.
Excursion Strath 5: Strathaird
Aspects covered: Middle and Upper Jurassic sedimentary rocks; Paleocene plateau lavas; Paleocene basic and xenolithic ultrabasic dykes; late glacial (Pleistocene) to post-glacial (Holocene) landslips.
Excursion Strath 6: Creag Strollamus
Aspects covered: the Paleocene Broadford Gabbro; Cambro-Ordovician
Excursion Strath 7: Strollamus to Torrin
Aspects covered: Paleocene granites of the Eastern Red Hills Intrusive Centre; hydrothermally-altered Paleocene plateau lavas and conglomerates; Lower and Middle Jurassic sedimentary strata; Upper Cretaceous flint-bearing limestones; gneiss of the Lewisian Gneiss Complex; Cambro-Ordovician dolostones; a fault between Cambro-Ordovician and Jurassic strata
Excursion Strath 8: Kilchrist to Torrin via Loch Eishort
Aspects covered: folded, metamorphosed Cambro-Ordovician
Excursion Strath 9: Kilchrist
Aspects covered: Paleocene volcaniclastic and pyroclastic deposits; the Kilchrist Ring-dyke (mixed-magma intrusion); a rhyolite breccia; a rhyolite sheet; ignimbrites; the Paleocene Beinn na Caillich Granite of the Eastern Red Hills Intrusive Centre (coarse- and fine-grained facies); Cambro-Ordovician
Excursion Strath 10: Spar Cave, lasnakille
Aspects covered: Carbonate encrustations on the vertical walls of geos and within Spar Cave; cross-bedded shallow marine sandstones of the Middle Jurassic Druim an Fhuarain Sandstone Member of the
SW Skye
Excursion SW Skye 1: The Allt Geodh a' Ghàmhna and the Allt MòrThe Allt Geodh a' Ghàmhna and the Allt Mòr
Aspects covered: Paleocene basaltic-mugearitic plateau lavas; clastic terrestrial sedimentary sequences interbedded with the lavas; lateritised tops of lavas; dykes of the Paleocene regional swarm; a complex fault zone, with brecciated, sheared and veined basaltic rocks.
Excursion SW Skye 2: Preshal More and Preshal Beg
Aspects covered: architecture and internal characteristics of Paleocene plateau lavas and interbedded sedimentary units; architecture, internal subdivisions and emplacement characteristics of a valley-filling ('intra-canyon') basaltic lava.
Excursion SW Skye 3: Talisker Bay
Aspects covered: Large-scale architecture of Paleocene basaltic-mugearitic plateau lavas; small-scale internal characteristics of the lavas; lateritised tops of lavas; folded bands/banding within a mugearite lava; dykes of the Paleocene regional swarm; fault zones, with brecciated, sheared and veined basaltic rocks.
Excursion SW Skye 4: Oronsay, Loch Bracadale
Aspects covered: various features of the Paleocene volcanic sequence.
West Skye
Excursion West Skye 1: Neist Point and Oisgill Bay
Aspects covered: the Paleocene Neist Point Sill and the Biod Bàn Sill – Middle Jurassic strata — thermal alteration (formation of hornfels) by sills – Paleocene plateau lavas of the
Excursion West Skye 2: Claigan Coral Beach
Aspects covered: the Claigan coral beach – the Lampay tombolo – Paleocene plateau lavas – Paleocene sills of the Little Minch Sill Complex – Paleocene dykes of the regional swarm – views of the lava field of Dunvegan head at the northern end of Duirinish.
Excursion West Skye 3: Idrigill Point and Macleod's Maidens
Aspects covered: Large-scale architecture of Paleocene basaltic-mugearitic plateau lavas; small-scale internal characteristics of the lavas; lateritised tops of lavas; dykes of the Paleocene regional swarm; fault zones.
Excursion West Skye 4: Waternish
Aspects covered: Large-scale architecture of Paleocene basaltic-mugearitic plateau lavas; small-scale internal characteristics of the lavas; lateritised tops of lavas; dykes of the Paleocene regional swarm; fault zones.
Excursion West Skye 5: Dunvegan Head
Aspects covered: Large-scale architecture of Paleocene basaltic-mugearitic plateau lavas; small-scale internal characteristics of the lavas; lateritised tops of lavas; dykes of the Paleocene regional swarm; a major landslip.
Excursion West Skye 6: Macleod's Tables, Duirinish
Aspects covered: Large-scale architecture of Paleocene basaltic-mugearitic plateau lavas; small-scale internal characteristics of the lavas; sedimentary units interbedded with the lavas
Excursion West Skye 7: Ramasaig, Duirinish
Aspects covered: Large-scale architecture of Paleocene basaltic plateau lavas viewed in coastal cliffs (no access); small-scale internal characteristics of the lavas; lateritised tops of lavas.
North Skye
Excursion North Skye 1: Portree area
Aspects covered: Paleocene pyroclastic and volcaniclastic deposits; hyaloclastites; subaerial plateau lavas; pillowed lavas; Paleocene dolerite sills; Jurassic sedimentary rocks; Holocene landslips.
Excursion North Skye 2: Bearreraig Bay
Aspects covered: Middle Jurassic shallow marine sedimentary rocks of the
Excursion North Skye 3: The Old Man of Storr and The Storr
Aspects covered: Paleocene lavas of the
Excursion North Skye 4: The Loch Cuithir diatomite deposits
Excursion North Skye 5: Rubha nan Brathairean
Aspects covered: Middle Jurassic sedimentary rocks; Palaeocene dolerite sills.
Excursion North Skye 6: The Kilt Rock and Valtos
Aspects covered: Paleocene olivine dolerite sills (including the Kilt Rock); the Middle Jurassic
Excursion North Skye 7: Staffin Slipway
Aspects covered: Middle Jurassic
Excursion North Skye 8: Flodigarry to Staffin
Aspects covered: Upper Jurassic marine strata of the Staffin Bay and Staffin Shale formations; landslips; a section through a landslipped block of Paleocene lavas; historic exploitation of diatomite deposits
Excursion North Skye 9: The Quiraing
Aspects covered: Quaternary-Holocene landslips; Paleocene lavas; Paleocene dykes of the regional swarm
Excursion North Skye 10: Rubha Hunish
Aspects covered: Paleocene sills intruded into (thermally metamorphosed) Middle Jurassic strata; coastal features (rock pillars/stacks, sea arches, geos)
Excursion North Skye 11: Duntulm
Aspects covered: Middle Jurassic estuarine strata of the
Excursion North Skye 12: Bornesketaig
Aspects covered: a Paleocene columnar-jointed picrite sill – a Paleocene banded ultrabasic dyke (the 'Mystery Dyke') – (weathered) olivine dolerite (sill) intruded into Middle Jurassic
Excursion North Skye 13: Fairy Glen
Aspects covered: Landslipped masses of basalt lava on the western margin of the Paleocene lava field.
Sleat
Excursion Sleat 1: Point of Sleat
Aspects covered: Folded low-grade regional metamorphic rocks of the Aruisg Psammite Group (Late Proterozoic Moine Supergroup) within the Tarskavaig Thrust Sheet; sedimentary features within these strata; Paleocene dykes of the Skye Regional Dyke Swarm; back-to-back storm beaches/tombolo.
Excursion Sleat 2: Sìthean Mòr, Tarskavaig
Aspects covered: Mylonites; sedimentary structures in psammites of the Late Proterozoic Moine Supergroup.
Excursion Sleat 3: Teangue
Aspects covered: the Lewisian Gneiss Complex (granite gneiss; amphibolite; serpentinite); mylonites of the Moine Thrust; Late Proterozoic Torridonian sedimentary rocks (Beinn na Seamraig Group).
Excursion Sleat 4: Ord
Aspects covered: Various Lower Palaeozoic and Late Proterozoic ('Torridonian') clastic and chemical (carbonate) sedimentary lithologies in complex thrusted relationships; present-day coralline seaweed (maërl)
deposits
Excursion Sleat 5: Glen Arroch
Aspects covered: Soft-sediment deformation structures, possibly seismically-induced, within Late Proterozoic ('Torridonian') sandstones of the Beinn na Seamraig Formation of the
Excursion Sleat 6: North Sleat
Aspects covered: cross-stratification, ripples and soft-sediment deformation structures within non-marine clastic strata of the Late Proterozoic ('Torridonian') sequence within the Kishorn Thrust Sheet of the Moine Thrust Zone; a major overturned fold within the trust sheet.
Excursion Sleat 7: Tokavaig
Aspects covered: Late Proterozoic ('Torridonian') strata of the
Raasay
Excursion Raasay 1: Brochel & North Raasay
Aspects covered: Late Proterozoic ('Torridonian') strata of the Diabaig and Applecross formations; lithologies of the Lewisian Gneiss Complex; three outcrops of post-Torridonian (Triassic?) carbonate-cemented breccias.
Excursion Raasay 2: Screapadal – Druim an Aonaich
Aspects covered: Late Proterozoic ('Torridonian') strata of the
Excursion Raasay 3: Dùn Caan
Aspects covered: a sill-like Paleocene granite; sandstone of the Middle Jurassic Druim an Fhuarain Sandstone Member; sandstone of the Upper Cretaceous
Excursion Raasay 4: The Raasay Ironstone Mine
Aspects covered: stratigraphic development and environment of formation of the Lower Jurassic
Excursion Raasay 5: South East Raasay
Aspects covered: Triassic (New Red Sandstone)
Excursion Raasay 6: South West Raasay
Aspects covered: The disused mining plant at the (now disused) pier at East Suisnish; strata of the Lower Jurassic