Just back from a week in Torridon/Applecross followed by a week in Assynt. I guess many of you will know the mountains but unless you are into geology, do the rocks say much to you?
A brief overview .
Lewisian gneiss basement, some of the oldest surface rocks in Europe, metamorphic and highly altered rocks which show beautiful patterns of different coloured folded bands. The Lewisian gives the classic knock and lochan landscape found West of Loch Assynt. Sitting on top of the Lewisian is the Torridonian sandstone. Much of this has been removed by erosion and the remnants can be seen in the form of mountains like Cul Mor, Canisp, Suilven and Quinag. Many of these mountains have a quartzite cap - the first of the Cambrian rocks deposited. These rocks are undisturbed and often referred to as the unmoved foreland.
To the East the situation is much more complex and major thrusts - the main one being the Moine Thrust - have caused huge sheets of rock to be moved 10s of kilometres. These earth movements were the final stages following the collision of continental plates which gave rise to the Caledonian Mountain Belt. The result is that older rocks often appear on top of younger ones - not the normal succession you get where rocks are undisturbed. One example is where the Moine Thrust cuts through the Stack of Glencoul, the older Moine rocks sit on top of the younger Cambrian ones. The view towards Stack of Glencoul near Kylesku bridge is one of many where it is possible to pick out the different rock types and see how features like thrusts, faults, folds and unconformities have shaped the landscape.
Some of the car parks have pictures and descriptions on boards - temporarily removed for updating at the moment. I wondered if people appreciate these or are they an intrusion? Should people be left to do their own research or is this sort of information and places like the Knockan Visitor Centre welcome in such a wild and beautiful landscape?