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to go – webpage Geoconservation Site information is posted at Strathclyde Strathclyde at posted is information Site

Please pass this leaflet on when you’ve finished with it! Printed on recycled paper.

of the Campsie Fells. Campsie the of www.lochlomond-.org

by igneous dykes lying beneath the thick lava flows flows lava thick the beneath lying dykes igneous by t: 01389 722600 e: [email protected] e: 722600 01389 t:

cut limestones see can You Lennoxtown. of west Carrochan, Balloch G83 8EG. G83 Balloch Carrochan,

Fells Campsie the of slopes southern the on Located National Park Authority. Park National

Geoconservation Group by Lomond & The Trossachs Trossachs The & Lomond Loch by Group Geoconservation Campsie Glen Campsie

This edition was produced on behalf of the Strathclyde Strathclyde the of behalf on produced was edition This

formed in an arid desert 375 million years ago. years million 375 desert arid an in formed

You can see folding and faulting in sandstone which which sandstone in faulting and folding see can You ’s geology visit visit geology Scotland’s . www.scottishgeology.com

Helensburgh. and Cardross between Located . To find out more about about more out find To . www.geologyglasgow.org.uk

Point Ardmore on page our visit us, about more out find to like would you If

Museums, and then to Grove. Fossil to then and Museums, soils and landscape and the natural processes which form them. them. form which processes natural the and landscape and soils

, navigate to Glasgow to navigate , to go www.glasgow.gov.uk heritage. Geodiversity is the variety of rocks, minerals, , fossils, minerals, rocks, of variety the is Geodiversity heritage.

times, opening For ago. years million 300 about

and identify sites which highlight local geodiversity and earth earth and geodiversity local highlight which sites identify and

the Highlands the

grew which forest fossilised ancient an of remains group whose aim is to conserve and promote local geology geology local promote and conserve to is aim whose group

Located in Victoria Park, Glasgow. You can see the the see can You Glasgow. Park, Victoria in Located We are a mainly amateur amateur mainly a are We Glasgow. of Society Geological

Fossil Grove Fossil Strathclyde Geoconservation Group which is part of the the of part is which Group Geoconservation Strathclyde

Lowlands meet meet Lowlands

This leaflet was written and originally produced by the the by produced originally and written was leaflet This

varied geology? Here are some suggestions: some are Here geology? varied

other sites in the area to discover more about Scotland’s about more discover to area the in sites other

Where the the Where If you have enjoyed your visit to Balmaha why not visit visit not why Balmaha to visit your enjoyed have you If

geological sites geological Balmaha Other nearby Other

Introduction What do the rocks tell us Why are the Highlands so

Have you ever wondered why Scotland’s landscape is so sharply divided into Highlands and Lowlands? about the past? different to the Lowlands? Balmaha is special to geologists because it is one of The Boundary The difference in height is partly because the hard Highland the best places to study the . A fault is a fracture in the Earth’s crust where two blocks of rocks have been more resistant to erosion. The Highlands Follow a scenic trail of only a few miles on good paths rock have moved relative to each other. The Highland Boundary have also been uplifted relative to the Lowlands due to along the shore of the loch. Here you can visit three Fault stretches across Scotland from the to vertical movements along the Highland Boundary Fault. different fragments of the Earth’s crust which have Stonehaven. Along the line of the fault, over 140 miles from end come together from different parts of the globe. You to end, the gently rolling Lowlands suddenly give way to the Many geologists believe that the Highland and Lowland blocks will discover how solid rock can be squeezed, folded, mountainous Highlands. formed in different places and that three continental fragments tilted upwards and split apart by faults. Many of these (called terranes) joined together around 400 million years ago. events happened over 600 million years ago, long before The Highlands north of Balmaha Plates of the Earth’s crust, about 120 km thick, can move across the appearance of the first animals or on land. The rocks which today form the Southern Highlands were laid the surface of the planet, spreading apart, slipping past or down as sediment at the bottom of the sea more than 600 colliding with each other. They move incredibly slowly, just million years ago. As the sediment piled up, the lower layers a few centimetres each year, about the speed your fingernails were compacted and slowly turned to rock. grow. Similar processes are occurring today in places such as Indonesia and along the San Andreas Fault in California. Later, the solid rock was squeezed and folded by tremendous forces and became buried to a depth of about 15 to 20 kilometres. Many geologists believe that the terrane which today The heat and pressure at that depth caused the original minerals forms the southern Highlands originated in western South in the rock to recrystallise into new minerals forming harder America, then became attached to North America before finally rocks. The mudstone turned into slate or schist, the sandstone becoming part of the northwest fringe of Europe! The Highland became quartzite, and limestone became marble. The process Border terrane is a narrow band of rock just a few hundred by which solid rock changes its structure in this way is called metres wide. It contains fossils which are more like North HIGHLANDS ‘metamorphism’. American fossils than European ones. The Midland Valley terrane forms the Lowlands south of Balmaha. It is covered These changes to sedimentary rocks occur deep within mountain by sedimentary rocks which were laid down after all three belts and are occurring today beneath the Himalayas. In older terranes came together. What lies beneath is still enigmatic. mountains, such as the Alps, these changes have stopped and Highland Boundary Fault the mountains are being actively eroded. The final episode in What’s the evidence for terranes at Balmaha? LOWLANDS the formation of our own Caledonian Mountains led to the rocks On the trail you will be able to compare two rocks called being uplifted back to the surface about 400 million years ago conglomerate and breccia. Both contain large fragments of and since then they have suffered continuing erosion. They older rocks which had broken up and become embedded in Southern Upland Fault would originally have been as high as the Alps are today or sediment to form the new rocks. SOUTHERN UPLANDS perhaps even the Himalayas. Today’s are just the eroded stumps. You would expect to see fragments of Highland rock embedded in these sediments having been carried by rivers from their The Lowlands south of Balmaha source just a few miles away. The breccia contains many The Lowlands are made of much softer fragments of a typical Highland rock called schist, however sedimentary rocks which have never the older conglomerate does not. Therefore many geologists been metamorphosed and still look believe that when the pebbly sediment was being deposited quite like the sediments they once in the Midland Valley terrane, it was not adjacent to the Follow the trail in this were. The red sandstone was deposited Dalradian terrane. They only came together in the time in rivers when the climate was much interval between the formation of these two rocks. leaflet on a short journey hotter than it is today and the limestone formed in balmy lagoons. formed It is interesting that today the professionals are not united of discovery... when fallen trees decomposed in a humid in one view of the and significance of the Highland environment. Climate change is not new! Boundary Fault zone. Geology is a dynamic and ever-changing Please do not damage any of the rocks you see on field of study. this trail by hammering them as we want future

generations to appreciate them too.

MANAGER A4 1/3 to folded

SIZE 1 No. PROOF

ACCOUNT 420x295mm

SCOTLAND

NS OPERATOR TEXT cmyk COLOURS

(if applicable) (if

220032 No. JOB 15/03/12/ DATE n/a

COVER

Beds of sandstone breccia sandstone of Beds

A short geological trail geological short A

explore the geology of Balmaha of geology the explore

A journey back in time to to time in back journey A

. ffice o e Heritag Natural h s i Scott al c lo your

t c ta n co or isit V m o .c and tl o sc - s s e cc tdoora u o

. nt e nm ro nvi e e h t or f e ar c •

conglomerate e l peop other of interests the respect •

Cliff formed of of formed Cliff s ion t ac own your for ity l responsibi e k ta •

: to are gs n thi key e th oors, d out the

ging a man r o rs o utdo o e th n i you’re Whether

de. o C Access

or o Outd h Scottis the n i fully d e n explai

e ar s e ti i nsibil o resp d n a ts h rig ess c ac our Y

. y l b si on sp e r act y e th ding i v o r p water nd a inl and

land st o m on be to t h rig the as h yone r Eve

Geoconservation.

y ibl ns po s re doors t ou

Strathclyde on click and

land’s t Sco oy j En www.geologyglasgow.org.uk

to go – webpage Geoconservation Site information is posted at Strathclyde Strathclyde at posted is information Site

Please pass this leaflet on when you’ve finished with it! Printed on recycled paper.

of the Campsie Fells. Campsie the of www.lochlomond-trossachs.org

by igneous dykes lying beneath the thick lava flows flows lava thick the beneath lying dykes igneous by t: 01389 722600 e: [email protected] e: 722600 01389 t:

cut limestones see can You Lennoxtown. of west Carrochan, Balloch G83 8EG. G83 Balloch Carrochan,

Fells Campsie the of slopes southern the on Located National Park Authority. Park National

Geoconservation Group by & The Trossachs Trossachs The & Lomond Loch by Group Geoconservation Campsie Glen Campsie

This edition was produced on behalf of the Strathclyde Strathclyde the of behalf on produced was edition This

formed in an arid desert 375 million years ago. years million 375 desert arid an in formed

You can see folding and faulting in sandstone which which sandstone in faulting and folding see can You . visit geology Scotland’s www.scottishgeology.com

Helensburgh. and Cardross between Located . To find out more about about more out find To . www.geologyglasgow.org.uk

Point Ardmore on page our visit us, about more out find to like would you If

Museums, and then to Fossil Grove. Fossil to then and Museums, soils and landscape and the natural processes which form them. them. form which processes natural the and landscape and soils

, navigate to Glasgow Glasgow to navigate , to go www.glasgow.gov.uk heritage. Geodiversity is the variety of rocks, minerals, fossils, fossils, minerals, rocks, of variety the is Geodiversity heritage.

times, opening For ago. years million 300 about

and identify sites which highlight local geodiversity and earth earth and geodiversity local highlight which sites identify and

the Highlands the

grew which forest fossilised ancient an of remains group whose aim is to conserve and promote local geology geology local promote and conserve to is aim whose group

Located in Victoria Park, Glasgow. You can see the the see can You Glasgow. Park, Victoria in Located We are a mainly amateur amateur mainly a are We Glasgow. of Society Geological

Fossil Grove Fossil Strathclyde Geoconservation Group which is part of the the of part is which Group Geoconservation Strathclyde

Lowlands meet meet Lowlands

This leaflet was written and originally produced by the the by produced originally and written was leaflet This

varied geology? Here are some suggestions: some are Here geology? varied

Scotland’s about more discover to area the in sites other

Where the the Where If you have enjoyed your visit to Balmaha why not visit visit not why Balmaha to visit your enjoyed have you If

geological sites geological Balmaha Other nearby Other

Introduction What do the rocks tell us Why are the Highlands so

Have you ever wondered why Scotland’s landscape is so sharply divided into Highlands and Lowlands? about the past? different to the Lowlands? Balmaha is special to geologists because it is one of The Highland Boundary Fault The difference in height is partly because the hard Highland the best places to study the Highland Boundary Fault. A fault is a fracture in the Earth’s crust where two blocks of rocks have been more resistant to erosion. The Highlands Follow a scenic trail of only a few miles on good paths rock have moved relative to each other. The Highland Boundary have also been uplifted relative to the Lowlands due to along the shore of the loch. Here you can visit three Fault stretches across Scotland from the Isle of Bute to vertical movements along the Highland Boundary Fault. different fragments of the Earth’s crust which have Stonehaven. Along the line of the fault, over 140 miles from end come together from different parts of the globe. You to end, the gently rolling Lowlands suddenly give way to the Many geologists believe that the Highland and Lowland blocks will discover how solid rock can be squeezed, folded, mountainous Highlands. formed in different places and that three continental fragments tilted upwards and split apart by faults. Many of these (called terranes) joined together around 400 million years ago. events happened over 600 million years ago, long before The Highlands north of Balmaha Plates of the Earth’s crust, about 120 km thick, can move across the appearance of the first animals or plants on land. The rocks which today form the Southern Highlands were laid the surface of the planet, spreading apart, slipping past or down as sediment at the bottom of the sea more than 600 colliding with each other. They move incredibly slowly, just million years ago. As the sediment piled up, the lower layers a few centimetres each year, about the speed your fingernails were compacted and slowly turned to rock. grow. Similar processes are occurring today in places such as Indonesia and along the San Andreas Fault in California. Later, the solid rock was squeezed and folded by tremendous forces and became buried to a depth of about 15 to 20 kilometres. Many geologists believe that the Dalradian terrane which today The heat and pressure at that depth caused the original minerals forms the southern Highlands originated in western South in the rock to recrystallise into new minerals forming harder America, then became attached to North America before finally rocks. The mudstone turned into slate or schist, the sandstone becoming part of the northwest fringe of Europe! The Highland became quartzite, and limestone became marble. The process Border terrane is a narrow band of rock just a few hundred by which solid rock changes its structure in this way is called metres wide. It contains fossils which are more like North HIGHLANDS ‘metamorphism’. American fossils than European ones. The Midland Valley terrane forms the Lowlands south of Balmaha. It is covered These changes to sedimentary rocks occur deep within mountain by sedimentary rocks which were laid down after all three belts and are occurring today beneath the Himalayas. In older terranes came together. What lies beneath is still enigmatic. mountains, such as the Alps, these changes have stopped and Highland Boundary Fault the mountains are being actively eroded. The final episode in What’s the evidence for terranes at Balmaha? LOWLANDS the formation of our own Caledonian Mountains led to the rocks On the trail you will be able to compare two rocks called being uplifted back to the surface about 400 million years ago conglomerate and breccia. Both contain large fragments of and since then they have suffered continuing erosion. They older rocks which had broken up and become embedded in Southern Upland Fault would originally have been as high as the Alps are today or sediment to form the new rocks. SOUTHERN UPLANDS perhaps even the Himalayas. Today’s Scottish Highlands are just the eroded stumps. You would expect to see fragments of Highland rock embedded in these sediments having been carried by rivers from their The Lowlands south of Balmaha source just a few miles away. The breccia contains many The Lowlands are made of much softer fragments of a typical Highland rock called schist, however sedimentary rocks which have never the older conglomerate does not. Therefore many geologists been metamorphosed and still look believe that when the pebbly sediment was being deposited quite like the sediments they once in the Midland Valley terrane, it was not adjacent to the Follow the trail in this were. The red sandstone was deposited Dalradian terrane. They only came together in the time in rivers when the climate was much interval between the formation of these two rocks. leaflet on a short journey hotter than it is today and the limestone formed in balmy lagoons. Coal formed It is interesting that today the professionals are not united of discovery... when fallen trees decomposed in a humid in one view of the nature and significance of the Highland environment. Climate change is not new! Boundary Fault zone. Geology is a dynamic and ever-changing Please do not damage any of the rocks you see on field of study. this trail by hammering them as we want future

generations to appreciate them too.

folded to 1/3 A4 1/3 to folded MANAGER

PROOF No. PROOF 1 SIZE

ACCOUNT ACCOUNT

420x295mm

SCOTLAND

COLOURS cmyk TEXT OPERATOR NS

(if applicable) (if

220032 No. JOB n/a 15/03/12/ DATE

COVER behind the National Park Visitor Centre 8 You may want to return 6 FrOM another day to climb Conic MILArrOcHY BAY reTurn THe Hill. The climb starts from Continue on the path to the rock looks like, WAY YOu cAMe On the back of the main car car park at Milarrochy Bay. you should drive THe pATH BesIde park in Balmaha and will For the first time on this walk to THe LOcH take you about an hour. you are now in the Highlands! where you will see Schist smoothed The path is easy to follow by glacier Since leaving the serpentinite large exposures Rowardennan Pier but it is steep all the way. you have crossed the of the silvery folded 6 1.5 miles However the view is simply Highland Boundary Fault schist around the car 7 breathtaking as shown on although you can’t actually park. The shiny silvery colour the cover of this leaflet. see any sign of it on the path is due to a mineral called The hill is made of the as the fault is now buried mica and the exposures are conglomerate rock you deep underground. There formed into smooth humps 5 1.25 miles saw at the pier. The hill are no exposures of bedrock ground down by glaciers marks the northern edge in the bay so if you want to during the last ice age. of Scotland’s Lowlands see what typical highland and sticks up because the rock is tilted steeply, a bit 7 like the lip of a bowl. If you have time explore the 5 area of bouldery foreshore which extends about 100 4 Continue on the path through beneath an ocean floor and metres south of the ranger the woods for about 600 was later metamorphosed. station. The low cliff about Continue on the trail and The fragments of rock in metres. Just beyond the This shows that rock a metre high behind the after you leave the gravel the breccia are mostly third wooden plank bridge can go through many, foreshore is formed of till, beach, just beyond a small silvery-coloured schist look up to your right where many cycles of eruption, often called boulder clay. stream, you will see inclined which is the same type of you will see a small crag. erosion, deposition and It consists of sediment beds of a purple-red rock at rock found in the Highlands It is an uncommon green metamorphism over millions containing fragments of widely the water’s edge. This rock just to the north. In contrast, rock with a soapy texture or even billions of varying sizes left behind when contains very angular broken the conglomerate you called serpentinite. It is years. If you a glacier melts and releases fragments of rock and is saw earlier contained no part of a thin group of go to the far the sediment which therefore a type of sandstone fragments of these common rocks called the Highland northwest had been called a breccia (pronounced Highland rocks. One theory Border Complex which is of Scotland locked up bretch-iya). is that the sedimentary basin sandwiched between the you will in the The angular fragments in which the conglomerate lowland and highland rocks. see rock ice. of rock within the breccia was formed was nowhere You have therefore crossed a which has are in stark contrast to the near the Highlands at that major geological boundary. not changed So far on this walk you have for over two rounded fragments which time! Serpentinite you saw in the conglomerate. seen sedimentary rocks billion years. The broken rock did not have (containing fragments of However in enough time to be rounded metamorphic rock) deposited Scotland most in the rivers and so must by rivers flowing over land. of the rock you have travelled a shorter The Highland Border rocks see has been distance from its source. are very different. They are ‘recycled’ many about 50 million years older times and is than the conglomerate and therefore of they were formed on the sea much younger floor rather than on land. The age, just a few serpentinite was originally hundred million Serpentinite Crag erupted as molten magma years! 0.9 miles

Beds of sandstone breccia 4 Angular fragments in the breccia 2

1 Return downhill to the road and turn right. Where the road ends at the From the car park go to the The metamorphic rock old pier take a narrow rocky path 3 0.7 miles main road then turn right and underlying the northern on the right beside the loch. The follow it round the north side part of the loch is very hard path here is cut into a rock called of the bay. Do not follow the and resistant to erosion conglomerate, the same rock main road as it turns right up compared to the softer you stood on at the viewpoint. It is the steep hill. Instead, keep sandstone underlying the made up of large rounded cobbles 3 to the shore-side road and southern part. of quartzite, volcanic rock, look for a wooden marker Soil is formed by chemical and some granite, packed Continue on the shore-side path post on the right at the start weathering of the underlying together in a finer-grained The path cut into the rock across the metal bridge and after of a stepped path which bedrock. That’s why the sandy material. about 400 metres you will emerge climbs quite steeply up the best farmland can be found There are several cliffs from the woodland at a long gently hillside. Take it slowly – it in the Lowlands where the to the right of the path curving bay with a gravel beach. should take you about five to sedimentary rock breaks between here and the Rounded The high ground is now behind you ten minutes to get to the top. down more readily to form metal bridge. You will conglomerate and the bay backs onto fairly flat At the summit you will be fertile soil. see that the conglomerate fields. This is because the rock rewarded with a magnificent The front cover of this leaflet is comprised of beds which beneath the bay is sandstone which view across Loch Lomond. shows a similar view from are inclined steeply to the right, eroded more easily than the harder Notice the stark contrast Conic Hill which is the higher roughly to the southeast. The beds conglomerate which forms the between the high mountains hill behind you. Notice the were deposited by large rivers hilltop viewpoint. When you look out to the north and the lower line of islands stretching which carried sediment eroded from to the loch you can see the same ground to the south. The away to the southwest high mountains to the northeast. contrast as the wooded island of loch to the north is much across the loch. This line The broken pieces of rock became 0.5 miles towards your left is quite narrower (and deeper) than of islands indicates the rounded as they tumbled against 2 hilly compared to the flatter one the southern part closer northernmost edge of the each other in the powerful river ahead of you (called ). The to you. Loch Lomond was Scottish Lowlands marked currents. The sediments were laid high hills at the far side of the loch formed when glaciers flowed by the zone of the Highland down in almost horizontal beds but are in the Highlands so the Highland from north to south during Boundary Fault. these were later tilted up at a steep Boundary Fault must cross the loch the last ice age between angle following vertical movements somewhere behind the islands. about 2 million and 10,000 along a fault just to the north. 0.25 miles years ago. 1 8 BALMAHA BAY sTArT Here nATIOnAL pArk View south to the View north to VIsITOr cenTre Lowlands and the highlands

Start: The national Terrain: The trail follows good paths, Distance: The distance to Toilets: There are toilets and park visitor centre in mainly on the . It the furthest point of the refreshments available in the large car park at keeps close to the shore of the loch walk is a mile and a half, or Balmaha at the start of the Balmaha which can so is easy to follow. You should wear three miles there and back. trail. In the summer months be reached by bus appropriate footwear as the paths can The return journey should there are also toilets at the from Balloch. be muddy and uneven in places. The take you around two hours furthest point of the route at paths are mostly fairly flat but the short on foot although you can the Milarrochy Bay car park. T he Tr ail detour up to the viewpoint is steep. turn back at any point.