The Scenery of Scotland Viewed in Connection with Its Physical Geology

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1887 Excerpt: ...seaward trend of the ruts and striae on the rock is traceable down to Berwick and into Northumberland. Into the long valley of the Great Glen, the striae come down from the high mountainous tracts on either side, and turn into the line of the valley, so as to run out into the Moray Firth on the north and into the Linnhe Loch on the south. In the glens that open upon the estuary of the Clyde, the rocks are striated along the line of each valley, the groovings passing up inland into the high grounds of the interior, and striking outwards beneath the sea. These markings prove that the mass of ice moved southwards from Loch Lomond, crossed the Clyde, passed over the hills of Renfrewshire, and crept down into the heart of Ayrshire, where it united with the ice that was streaming northward from the Southern Uplands. The very islands in the Firth of Clyde are striated in the same way. Bute, for instance, is a notable example, for the striae, after coming down the glens of Cowal and passing beneath the Kyles, reappear on the Bute shores, actually mount the slopes of the island, so as to go right across it at a height of more than five hundred feet, and descend upon the firth on the south-west side (Fig. 55). long parallel markings on the rocks can be followed as they slant over the west side of the valley and pass across the hills of Cowal some 1300 feet in height into Loch Fyne. The ground between that loch and the Glendarual valley has been worn down into many hollows which, with the striation, trend away to the south-west. Again, we can sometimes trace the glacial groovings out of one glen or sea-loch over a high watershed into another valley. Thus from Loch Lomond, these strange almost indelible markings can be seen striking through the short cross valley at Ta...