North Sandwick
Also within
Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Moine | Favourable | — | 2013-01-16 |
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, Volcanic / Igneous
Description
North Sandwick North Sandwick, on the north-east coast of Yell, contains excellent exposures of metasedimentary rocks, comprising metamorphosed sandstones (psammites and quartzites) and metamorphosed mudstones (pelites), of the Yell Sound Group together with garnet-studded hornblende schists derived from the metamorphism of early igneous intrusive basic sheets. These features assist in the correlation of the rocks of Yell with the Moine Succession of the North-west Highlands of Scotland, and notably with the rocks of the Glenfinnan and Loch Eil groups. Also within the site are small, but instructive exposures of the Hascosay Slide and the Bluemull Sound Fault.