South Shian and Balure

Also within

Argyll and Bute County Lynn of Lorn Scenic Area

Condition (NatureScot)

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Quaternary

Landscape processes: Glacial

Description

South Shian and Balure South Shian and Balure SSSI comprises two stretches of shoreline with outcrops and low cliffs in western Benderloch, 13km north of Oban. The Quaternary interest lies in the deposits at South Shian and Balure which provide some of the clearest evidence for a separate ice advance, named the Loch Lomond Readvance, at the end of the last glacial period after the main ice sheet had receded. Key sections show fossil bearing marine clays of Devensian Late glacial age (“Clyde Beds”) laid down when the ice sheet receded. They are overlaid by morainic and fluvioglacial sediments deposited by a later glacier, advancing down the valley now occupied by Loch Creran, and in places demonstrate disturbances related to over-riding ice. The fossil fauna contained in the marine deposits is typical of the Clyde Beds of western Scotland, and well-preserved shells have yielded radiocarbon dates that are significant in providing a maximum age for the deposits of the Loch Lomond Readvance in this part of Scotland. South Shian and Balure is therefore a key area for studies of Late glacial Stratigraphy and chronology.