Bagh Tharsgabhaig
Also within
Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Moine | Favourable | — | 2014-06-05 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.
Geology & landscape
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
BÀGH THARSGABHAIG Bàgh Tharsgabhaig Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) lies on the western side of the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye. It displays nationally important features of the Moine Thrust Belt. The Moine Thrust is a major fracture in the Earth’s crust, which runs along Scotland’s north-western seaboard from Loch Eriboll on the north coast to the Sleat peninsula. The Thrust is one of the most important features of Highland geology and was formed around 430 million years ago during a mountain-building event known as the ‘Caledonian Orogeny’. At Bàgh Tharsgabhaig SSSI there are exposures of Torridonian rocks within the Kishorn Nappe and also exposures of the overlying Tarskavaig Nappe. The Tarskavaig Thrust, which separates the two nappes, is well displayed in this site and the deformation associated with the Thrust can easily be studied. The Bàgh Tharsgabhaig SSSI contains much of the information required for a full understanding of the rocks and structures of the Tarskavaig Nappe and thus provides a key to this part of the Moine Thrust Belt. The Tarskavaig Nappe, which lies below the Moine Thrust but above the Kishorn Nappe, is composed largely of a series of weakly metamorphosed sediments known as the Tarskavaig Group; these sediments get progressively younger away from the Lewisian rocks at their base, which is immediately adjacent to the Tarskavaig Thrust Plane. In the coastal section of the SSSI, south of Bàgh Tharsgabhaig, the various lithologies of the Tarskavaig Group are well displayed and can be compared directly with the underlying Torridonian rocks. The Tarskavaig rocks are somewhat intermediate in character between certain Torridonian lithologies and parts of the overlying Moine so that different authorities have referred them to both successions. Much of the vital information necessary for an appraisal of their true geological affinities is located within this SSSI. The site also allows the structural relationships of the Tarskavaig Nappe to the Kishorn Nappe to be clearly appreciated.