Ardnamurchan

This excursion has been cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak. We hope to reschedule it for 2021.

Leader: Con Gillen

Field days: Friday (afternoon)/ Saturday/ Sunday/ Monday (morning)

The Ardnamurchan peninsula, which includes the most westerly point of the Scottish mainland, is composed mainly of the remains of an early Palaeogene volcano with three centres of activity. Part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province which includes Mull, Rum and Skye, it was erupted into Moine metasedimentary rocks and overlain by a sequence of thin sedimentary rocks. Ardnamurchan displays classic geology on a colossal scale, with features such as mixed magma, ash flows, ring dykes, cone sheets and examples of “airfall” rocks formed from lava ejected from the heart of the volcano – it is regarded as almost a “textbook volcano”. A drive across the peninsula is a journey through its magma chamber. Its overall structure is difficult to perceive on the ground but from space the picture is much clearer – rings of once molten magma can be seen to define a series of almost perfect circles. These are the lower parts of the volcano after the superstructure has been planed off by erosion, in this case, effectively, by the last Ice Age. We plan to visit significant localities of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and there may also be the opportunity to sail to Tobermory (whales!) for those who wish to do less climbing!

Accommodation will be B & B in Kilchoan etc.; transport will be in shared cars.

If you are interested, please contact the Residential Excursions Secretary, Maggie Donnelly, at restrips@gsocg.org as soon as possible, because accommodation is not plentiful and gets booked up quickly.