Loch Etteridge

Also within

Inverness County Cairngorms National Park

Condition (NatureScot)

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Quaternary

Landscape processes: Glacial

Description

Loch Etteridge Loch Etteridge lies between the Cairngorm and Monadhliath mountain ranges, 5 km south of Newtonmore. It is an important site for the Quaternary of Scotland and is key for interpreting the Late Quaternary period in northern Britain. Loch Etteridge lies in a large dead ice hollow and is surrounded by an excellent assemblage of kames, kame terraces and eskers. Sediments in the loch have recorded the pattern of environmental change in the central Grampian hills throughout the Late Devensian and early Flandrian periods. Pollen data from the loch provide the basis for both vegetational and climatic reconstructions. Stratigraphic evidence from Loch Etteridge has helped to form the basis for establishing a Late Devensian glacial chronology for the Grampian Highlands. Of particular significance is the date of 13151 ± 390 BP (before present) from the base of the sequence which provides a minimum date for the disappearance of Late Devensian ice from much of the Scottish Highlands.