Tinto Hills

Also within

Lanarkshire County

Condition (NatureScot)

Geology & landscape

Landscape processes: Glacial, Periglacial

Description

Tinto Hills Tinto Hills lie approximately 4km south west of Thankerton. They contain one of the finest examples of periglacial stone stripes in Scotland and support dry upland habitats with a good representation of sub-montane acidic dwarf-shrub heath and grassland. The periglacial stone stripes are developed in exposed locations on the high slopes of the hill. The stripes are actively forming, and the site is a key locality for studying current periglacial processes. The site also includes part of a sub-glacial meltwater drainage system, including meltwater channels that formed during the last glaciation. The sub-montane acidic dwarf-shrub heath and grassland are habitat types that were once universal throughout much of south west Scotland but are now largely modified by grazing or lost to forestry. Of particular importance is the comparatively large and unmodified extent of dry heather moorland. The area has a characteristic upland flora, which includes the montane plants stiff sedge Carex bigelowii and mountain crowberry Empetrum nigrum subsp. hermaphroditum.

Species mentioned