Clatteringshaws Dam Quarry
Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Caledonian Igneous | Favourable | — | 2015-02-24 |
Geology & landscape
Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Rock Type: Granite
Landscape processes: Volcanic / Igneous
Description
CLATTERINGSHAWS DAM QUARRY Clatteringshaws Dam Quarry SSSI lies approximately 10km west of New Galloway on the south eastern end of Clatteringshaws Loch. The Cairnsmore of Fleet granite is the only entirely peraluminous ‘S-type’ granite in the Scottish Newer Granites. It is the most felsic of the concentrically zoned plutons of the Southern Uplands and has the most limited compositional variation found in that group. Fine exposures in the road cuttings at Clatteringshaws Dam illustrate deformation and veining of the Lower Palaeozoic country rocks consequent upon the forceful emplacement of the granite magma. Coarse-grained biotite granite, forming the outermost unit in the pluton, together with abundant aplopegmatite veins are well exposed in the nearby quarry. The site is widely used for teaching purposes.