Quinag Wildlife Project – Geology of Quinag

June 29th 2021

Quinag Wildlife Project – Geology of Quinag

Geology of Quinag: background

Ian M. Evans

 

No study of the wildlife of Quinag is meaningful without an understanding of the rocks that underlie it, and how they came into being.  Their nature and distribution have determined its topography, the pattern of the water-courses that drain its slopes, and the chemistry of its soils and waters.  Such factors influence where plants, fungi, animals and other organisms can exist, and how they have been affected, over the last few millennia, by human activities.

We were therefore pleased that Pete Harrison agreed to provide this comprehensive account (view here).  Pete first came to the NW Highlands in the 1970s, attracted by the people, landscape and geology.  In 1980 he returned as a teacher of physics and geology at Ullapool High School, leaving as Headteacher in 2014 to join the North West Highlands Geopark as Geologist.  He continues to learn from the rocks.

 

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Recent Sightings

Sanderling

Two feeding along the shoreline at Clashnessie Beach (Pete) (20/08)

Fox Moth Caterpillar

One at Torbreck (Cheryl Smith) (17/08)

Burying Beetle

One in a garden at Torbreck (Cheryl Smith) (12/08)

Bee Beetle

One in a garden at Torbreck (Cheryl Smith) (11/08)

Golden Eagle

One at Elphin (Pete) (11/08)

Scotch Argus butterfly

Four at two locations along Drumbeg Peat Road (Vince Hilton) (09/08)

Barn Owl

Hunting at last light, c. 22:00, Eadar da' sloc, near Lochinver (Michael Rochester) (08/08)

Spotted Flycatcher

A family group of three nested locally (Stefan Taylor) (04/08)

Map