Summit view from Sgurr Alasdair from the Inaccessible Pinnacle, left, to pyramidal, Sgurr nan Gillean, right, Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Commentary.
Oh, shadowy igneous, rocks.
Eroded remnants of a 60 million-year-old magma chamber
by glacier, constant freeze-thaw in cracks and dykes, gravity as boulders tumble, wind, rain and subsequent burns and rivers.
Foreground up to top left is the Black Cuillin, mostly Gabbro with some Basalt Dyke Intrusion.
Beyond these hills, towards top right, but before the sea channel is reached are the lighter-coloured Red Cuillin Hills, made of granitic intrusions.
Both sets of hills produced by massive eruptions
that may have emitted projectile rock and lava-flows to a volume of 15 cubic kilometres, equivalent to the Krakatoa blast.
Lava-flows travelled up to 41 km. to places like the Sgurr of Eigg where rapid cooling produced glassy igneous rocks like Pitchstone or Obsidian.
The Red Cuillins eroded much more evenly, hence their more even, rounded forms.
The Black Cuillin is a much more dramatic erosion
leaving a ten-mile serrated, knife-edge arête with frequent vertical clefts.
It is raw, bare, jagged and breath-taking.
Many climbers of the Himalayas, Alps, Dolomites, Andes and Rockies have loved this ridge as their training ground.
Few places in the world have 360° views of sea-channels, ocean, islands, mainland, bays, beaches headlands, peninsulas, valleys, forests and layered mountains into the distance.
The views are astounding and totally captivating, simply unforgettable.
No wonder that the Isle of Skye is often rated one of the single most amazing islands on Earth.
It undoubtedly is!
Summit view from Sgurr Alasdair from the Inaccessible Pinnacle, left, to pyramidal, Sgurr nan Gillean, right, Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Commentary.
Oh, shadowy igneous, rocks.
Eroded remnants of a 60 million-year-old magma chamber
by glacier, constant freeze-thaw in cracks and dykes, gravity as boulders tumble, wind, rain and subsequent burns and rivers.
Foreground up to top left is the Black Cuillin, mostly Gabbro with some Basalt Dyke Intrusion.
Beyond these hills, towards top right, but before the sea channel is reached are the lighter-coloured Red Cuillin Hills, made of granitic intrusions.
Both sets of hills produced by massive eruptions
that may have emitted projectile rock and lava-flows to a volume of 15 cubic kilometres, equivalent to the Krakatoa blast.
Lava-flows travelled up to 41 km. to places like the Sgurr of Eigg where rapid cooling produced glassy igneous rocks like Pitchstone or Obsidian.
The Red Cuillins eroded much more evenly, hence their more even, rounded forms.
The Black Cuillin is a much more dramatic erosion
leaving a ten-mile serrated, knife-edge arête with frequent vertical clefts.
It is raw, bare, jagged and breath-taking.
Many climbers of the Himalayas, Alps, Dolomites, Andes and Rockies have loved this ridge as their training ground.
Few places in the world have 360° views of sea-channels, ocean, islands, mainland, bays, beaches headlands, peninsulas, valleys, forests and layered mountains into the distance.
The views are astounding and totally captivating, simply unforgettable.
No wonder that the Isle of Skye is often rated one of the single most amazing islands on Earth.
It undoubtedly is!