Minerals of Scotland

Isle of Skye
MINERALS & LOCATIONS

Its Minerals & Their Locations
Introduction - Collecting Guide
Mineral & Locality Gallery - Links & Map

Isle of Skye
Mineral Galleries

(for locations, see below)

ZEOLITE MINERALS
analcime - chabazite - erionite - cowlesite
heulandite

ZEOLITE MINERALS
laumontite - mordenite - natrolite stellerite - stilbite - thomsonite

ZEOLITE & ASSOCIATE MINERALS
apophyllite - gyrolite - levyne - offretite/erionite
mesolite - epistilbite

OTHER MINERALS
calcite - clinohumite - prehnite - talc - zircon
quartz - Skye marble

Main Site

Site Links

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Scottish Highlands

Strontian

Strontian Zeolites brewsterite & harmotome

External Link

Steetley Minerals
Formerly Rock-site Co.uk - now updated & enlarged!
Fine crystals & minerals from the Isle of Skye. Also other British sites available. (see external links page also)

"Over The Sea to Skye"

Next to the Scottish mainland and also the largest of the islands off Scotland's west coast, the Isle of Skye* is a beautiful, wild and serene place.
Popular with many, it is nonetheless, also relaxing and quiet.

Stretching over 60 miles in length, with several hundred miles of indented coastline, its beauty is derived from its geology. The Quirang, The Old Man of Storr and Kilt Rock are among some of the geologically-derived, scenic highlights.

*(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
by impressive cliffs of difficult access.

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, the experience can be memorable!

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 as the main priority! Some sites are dangerous.

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! Take care!

ISLE of SKYE
View of an escarpement in the northern half of the island, created by the weathering of the Tertiary Plateau Basalts.

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 have basalt flows capped with mugearite. Columnar jointing may also be seen in some places.

Though not on the scale of the Deccan Plateau lavas of India, or rendering specimens consistently of a grade which that area can produce, the minerals of Skye's basalts, a classic area in the mineralogy of basalt lavas, are still desirable and interesting.


Enjoy the scenery, the mineral collecting and the atmosphere of Skye!

Isle of Skye - Location Photo Galleries


MOONEN BAY


SGURR nam BOC


THE STORR


SKYE - Others
(5,6,8,11)

Several classic localities still render specimens, notably the Quirang, The Storr and Talisker Bay. More recent sites at Sgurr nam Boc (virtually inaccessible)
and Moonen Bay have resulted in a major upgrade in specimen quality.

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
not to go away empty-handed with either hand specimens or micromounts.


TALISKER BAY


OISGILL BAY

Camas an h'Uamah
Rudha nan Clach (7,12)


THE QUIRAING

Black Hill & Sligachan (13,14)

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
as secondary copper species.

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, David McCallum & Mike Wood. This site would like to express its sincerest thanks to both of them for making these available for use and for making the locality photo-guide pages possible.
A special thanks also to Fabrizio Frattini for the photographs of The Quiraing, The Storr and his contributions elsewhere.

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.