Barron, H F, Gillespie, M R and Merritt, J W 2011. Geodiversity of the Cairngorms National Park. British Geological Survey Open Report, OR/10/019
A PDF of this report is available from the NORA, the NERC archive
Site no.: B5
Site name: Burn of Gowal
Grid reference:
Locality: Upper reaches of Glen Clova, south of Broad Cairn
GCR Status: N/A
GCR No.: N/A
Type: Natural landform and natural exposures
Description: A glen on the flanks of which gently dipping sheet joints formed parallel to the land surface of a pre- glacial shallow river valley are truncated by the classically U-shaped form of a glacially incised valley. The area also contains good exposures of the contact between the Lochnagar Granite Pluton and its country rocks (Dalradian Supergroup).
Justification: A good example of glacial modification of a pre-glacial landscape (perhaps one of the best in the CNP outwith the Cairngorm Mountains). Also one of the best examples in the CNP of the contact between a major intrusion and its host rocks.