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.: B28
Site name: The Slochd
Grid reference:
Locality: Ground around Slochd
GCR Status: Proposed
GCR No.: 0
Type: Natural exposures
Description: The GCR site encompasses the A9 road cutting at Slochd and natural exposures within an area stretching approximately 2.5 km to the south and south-east. The CNP boundary lies south of the road cutting, but many of the natural exposures in the GCR site lie within the park. The GCR volume 'Dalradian rocks of Scotland' (Stephenson et al., 2010) contains a full description of the site.
Justification: The site contains perhaps the best and most accessible examples of Dava Subgroup strata in the CNP, which are the oldest rocks in the park. The Dava rocks include gneissose strata, spectacular examples of migmatitic (partly melted) rocks, minor fold structures and shearing within the Grampian Shear Zone. The site also includes non-gneissose rocks within the basal strata of the Dalradian Supergroup. The Slochd site has played an important role in the development of ideas regarding the structural and stratigraphical relationships of the basal Dalradian and older strata in the Northern Grampian Highlands.