Torloisk, Laganulva, Salen circuit
Posted: Thursday, 14 June 2007 |
There are some places that are simply a joy to visit and the thrill never fades. I think the road from Torloisk to Salen via Ulva Ferry is one of those. It was Thursday morning and a busy day ahead as I headed over to Torloisk for some broadband related work. From the high point on the road, the views seawards are stunning.
I stopped for lunch near Laganulva - there is some seriously interesting geology here, and all very accesible as well! The famous Eas Fors waterfall (triple taupology, q.v.) is near here of course, but what I wanted to look at in the brief time I had was the shore just before Laganulva. This area is dominated by a rock type that is pyroclastic - it is a consolidated ash that was ejected early on in the Tertiary volcanic period. It is found in several places near the base of the lava pile, but nowhere is it more accesible than here, at Camas an Lagain. Here is a series of pics:
Walking down to the shore, looking over to Ulva
The rock is a light gray colour, with large boulders of solid lava embedded in it. Some of these are quite large. The ruler you can see is a special one used to give a sense of scale to pics like these. It is 30 cm long.
This is the view looking up the coast in a NW direction
Like so much of te Mull shoreline, dykes run across it. this one was only a few inches wide. Notice how it has had a reddening effect on the ash deposit. Quite remarkable.
Another dyke, running across the shore.
And another view of this sort of thing.
A large basaltic boulder in the ash.
Finally a look over to Ben More from the road just past Ulva Ferry:
That's it for today. Cracker of a day so it was, very clear, dry sunny. Will be back again soon - stay tuned!
James
I stopped for lunch near Laganulva - there is some seriously interesting geology here, and all very accesible as well! The famous Eas Fors waterfall (triple taupology, q.v.) is near here of course, but what I wanted to look at in the brief time I had was the shore just before Laganulva. This area is dominated by a rock type that is pyroclastic - it is a consolidated ash that was ejected early on in the Tertiary volcanic period. It is found in several places near the base of the lava pile, but nowhere is it more accesible than here, at Camas an Lagain. Here is a series of pics:
Walking down to the shore, looking over to Ulva
The rock is a light gray colour, with large boulders of solid lava embedded in it. Some of these are quite large. The ruler you can see is a special one used to give a sense of scale to pics like these. It is 30 cm long.
This is the view looking up the coast in a NW direction
Like so much of te Mull shoreline, dykes run across it. this one was only a few inches wide. Notice how it has had a reddening effect on the ash deposit. Quite remarkable.
Another dyke, running across the shore.
And another view of this sort of thing.
A large basaltic boulder in the ash.
Finally a look over to Ben More from the road just past Ulva Ferry:
That's it for today. Cracker of a day so it was, very clear, dry sunny. Will be back again soon - stay tuned!
James
Comments
Good pics again, James. You really open our eyes when it comes to looking at the landscape. I would like to get into geology a bit more - is there a good 'Geology for Dummies' (and I do mean dummies) type book? I suppose the consolidated ash you mention would be like that that came out of Vesuvius and apparently caused far more deaths than the lava flows or fires.
Jill from EK
thank you for the lovely pictures-again!! you should go and visit the north island in NZ(ok i'm driving folks nuts with nz) but the north island is very volcanic and there is one island which still has a volcano in activity-- i even flew over it in a helicopter-which for me was no lean feat as i have a great fear of whirlybirds. whirlybirds?? i have vague memories of a series on the tele being called that!! aahh old age --again
carol from over here
I remember it too, Carol. It was in the days when helicopters were an exotic species.
Jill from EK
Jill, an excellent book, and one that I recommend to my students is "Understanding Geology" by David Webster. It is a sort of workbook - I think it may be recommended for GCSE use, it is really good, easy to follow and generally quite logical. Well worth it!
James (MM) from Tob
I've ordered it from Amazon! I have a couple of 'Rocks and Minerals' type books but nothing that explains the fundamentals. I'll have to take the book on holiday with me so I can spot things. Many thanks! Have a good weekend.
Jill from EK
For goodness sake Carol, stop this 'I'm ancient 'thing, you're a woman in your prime with a great future! Think of the poor rock formations ...ossified...nothing to look forward to....never changing...bored stiff...walked all over without redress....*sob*
Flying Cat from peering into a crumpled face
FCX:- I FEEL GOOD!!!!!!
carol from puppy love
Hooray!!!
Flying Cat from kitty affection
Exploring the hills and coasts of Mull and Iona and occasionally elsewhere, with a close eye on the geology
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