Loch Sunart
Geological Conservation Review site | GCR #2506 | Igneous Petrology | Caledonian igneous
Scotland's geosites are chosen because of their local, national or international importance. Take only photos, leave only footprints: avoid causing any damage to this site. You can walk almost anywhere in Scotland without the need to ask permission or keep to paths, but you have a responsibility to care for your own safety, to respect people's privacy and peace of mind and to cause no damage.
This site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is an offence to intentionally or recklessly damage the protected natural features of a SSSI, and this includes unauthorised sample collection.
The right of access does not extend to quarries, building sites or any land where public access is prohibited, or to the collection of geological samples.
Summary
The Strontian Granite is a zoned pluton which, on radiometric grounds, is slightly older than the bulk of the Siluro-Devonian Scottish Newer Granites. The Loch Sunart site provides a cross-section through the northern end of the pluton, and the outer foliated tonalites and inner porphyritic granodiorite are well-displayed together with associated dykes. The most significant feature, however, is the presence of appinite bodies within the pluton which have margins that chill against the enclosing igneous host rocks, indicating that the bodies are not xenoliths but were emplaced as magma. A further unusual feature is the presence of microdiorite xenoliths forming trains, oriented by flow in the host magma.
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