Geology and Physical Characteristics

The Geology of Glenlivet and Strathavon

The Estate lies within the 200 m - 800 m contours. The underlying geology of the area mainly consists of hard metamorphic schists and quartzites, mixed with several intrusions of coarse grained granite and bands of calcium rich limestone rocks. In places, particularly around Tomintoul, Middle Old Red Sandstone occurs.

There are a number of disused quarries on the Estate. In the past these produced 'slates' for roofing (ie. Cnoc Fergan Schist), limestone and coarse aggregate. The Ladder Hills have been mined for a number of metal ores including iron ore and manganese, which was extracted during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries at the Lecht mine. However, there are no mineral workings taking place within the estate today other than the extraction of quartzite aggregate for forest road building.

The rocks found in the Tomintoul and Glenlivet area are dominantly schists and quartzites. Schists are metamorphic rocks formed from sedimentary rocks (sandstones, shales,mudstones), which have been totally transformed by extreme heat and pressure after being buried, then exposed to the huge forces of crustal movements and the high temperatures which exist near the earth's mantle. Quartzites are formed in a similar way but have a slightly different sedimentary origin, being formed from sandstones with a high silica (quartz) content. Mixed in with the schists and quartzites are various bands of calcium rich limestone rocks as well as intrusions of coarse grained igneous granite. In places, particularly around Tomintoul, Old Red Sandstone occurs - a sedimentary rock laid down after the schists, quartzites and granite were formed.

Much of the Highlands are composed of these metamorphic schists and quartzites which geologists have broadly divided into two main groups according their age - the Moine and the Dalradian. These overlie a much older rock called gneiss, a metamorphic rock of both igneous and sedimentary origin which was formed 2600 million years ago (mya) as part of the earth's ancient crust. Rocks from both the Moine and Dalradian series are found on the Glenlivet Estate.

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Strathavon

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