Scotland's Glaciers

It was here in Scotland in 1840 that Swiss geologist Louis Agassiz first recognised the work of ice on the landscape. On touring the area around Glen Roy and Loch Treig in the West Highlands, Agassiz formed his theories on glaciation. He later studied a rock outcrop in the Hermitage of Braid in Edinburgh, and realised that its scratched and polished surface had been caused by ice scraping by. This outcrop has since become known as Agassiz Rock.

Since then, much has been learned about Scotland's recent glacial past. The evidence lies in the natural landforms seen throughout the country, many of which are internationally important and unique. They show us how glaciers and ice-sheets have carved the landscape and affected sea levels, and how their meltwaters gave us many features that we see today.

In the Northern Hemisphere, around 50 ice ages have come and gone over the last 2.4 million years (the Quaternary Period). In Scotland, most is understandably known about the last ice age. This happened between 29,000 and 14,700 years ago. A mini-ice age then occurred between 12,900 and 11,500 years ago. This last cold spell, known as the Loch Lomond Stadial, brought back the glaciers and the tundra conditions. Although the glaciers covered much of the southwest Highlands, southern Loch Lomond is the type area and so has been chosen for this first Twinning Project.