Minerals of Scotland
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ISLE OF SKYE Mineral
Photo Galleries Introduction
& Collecting Guide |
|
| "Over
The Sea to Skye"
The
largest of the islands and next to the Scottish mainland,
the Isle of Skye* is a beautiful, Stretching
over 60 miles in length, with several hundred miles of
indented coastline, *(The name is thought to originate from its shape: wing-like, in the Gaelic language). |
A Mineral Collector's Haven The island
is esteemed by mineral collectors for the zeolite
minerals found amid the Tertiary basalt lavas of the
northern part of the island. These rocks create a scenery
indented with sea lochs or fjords and land bulwarked from
the sea The
scenery, the peace and tranquility of the sites can make
for an enjoyable experience. When the "Isle of
Clouds", as it was known to the Norsemen, is endowed
with good weather, Geology The lavas date from the Palaeocene to early Eocene epochs (63-53 million years ago). Over 650 metres of lavas are exposed, with olivine basalts, the predominant type. Well-known sites such as The
Storr and The Quiraing Though not on the scale of the
Deccan Plateau lavas or rendering specimens consistently
of a grade which the latter can produce, the minerals of
the Isle of Skye basalts |
ISLE of SKYE - Plateau Basalts. |
| Mineral
Collecting The minerals are found in lava cavities or vesicles and generally between individual flows. Rockfall occurences from these sites are also an important part of the collecting experience. The collector must take the proper safety
measures and precautions and maintain a sense of
self-preservation Particular care of
steep gradients, a respect for cliffs, falling rocks and
pebbles and an awareness of tidal variations are
important aspects of collecting minerals on the Isle of
Skye - not to mention sudden changes in weather
conditions! |
|
Isle
of Skye - Photo Galleries |
ZEOLITE MINERALS |
ZEOLITE MINERALS |
ZEOLITE & ASSOCIATE
MINERALS |
OTHER MINERAL SPECIES |
LOCATIONS |
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|
Several
classic localities still render specimens, notably the
Quirang, The Storr and Talisker Bay. More recent sites at
Sgurr nam Boc (virtually inaccessible) Both
the old and new sites, along with lesser known locations,
provide a broad array of zeolite species and the
opportunity for the well-prepared collector |
For
information on Skye's Type Locality minerals check the
link below. |
Cuillin Hills
The impressive and atmospheric Cuillin Hills of southern-central Skye are distant and isolated. They are composed of Tertiary age, igneous rocks, related to those in the north; but granite and gabbro predominate - giving rise to the term "red and black Cuillins...". The granite has localized, small miarolitic cavities which may reveal interesting minerals as microcrystals. The
contact zone of the granites with the basalts of the
north, has recently uncovered some interesting minerals:
prehnite as hand specimens, as well |
Southern Skye
The rocks of southern Skye, Cambrian and Pre-Cambrian in age, include Lewisian Gneiss and Torridonian Sandstone. The Cuillin Hills' southern edge is the contact-zone of the island's Tertiary intrusive rocks with the Durness Limestone of Cambro-Ordovician age. Rare skarn-type minerals such as harkerite (type locality), ludwigite and monticellite can be found here. It's also the area of the famous Skye Marble - a genuine marble - with a distinctive and attractive colouration, due to minerals like forsterite, ludwigite, diopside and brucite. |
And, It's Not All Lava.
Adding variety, there are frequent outcrops at the base of the northern cliffs of Jurassic sediments containing fossils - when not covered by boulders fallen from the cliffs above. In 2002, one such location revealed the largest set of dinosaur footprints ever found in Scotland. Fifteen pairs of footprints were uncovered and casts made of them by a Glasgow University team, after the chance finding of a print by a member of the public. The casts were made since the site was at the mercy of erosional forces. |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The
majority of the locality photos were taken by two of
Skye's premier and most knowledgeable field collectors, |
Further Reading/ References
UK Journal of Mines and
Minerals -
vol. 10, pp 43-46. " The Rediscovery of Sgurr nam Boc, Isle
of Skye." J & P. Pearce.
vol. 16, pp 21-27. " Zeolites and Related Species from
Moonen Bay, Isle of Skye, Scotland." D.I. Green & J.G.
Todd.
vol. 21, pp 8-27.
"Twenty Years in Minerals: Scotland". D.I. Green &
J.G. Todd. (2001).
© Minerals of Scotland website - 2008.
