• Login
  • Join Us
Royal Geographical Society with IBG
  • About us
  • Geography
  • Schools
  • Professionals
  • In the field
  • Research
  • What's on

Search the Society

Enter keyword or phrase...
Find
Royal Geographical Society with IBG
Back to Adventure landscapes

Adventure landscapes

This module appeals to students' sense of wonder and adventure, virtually dropping them into dramatic places above and below ground and allowing them to explore the physical processes that formed them and continue to shape them

  • Key Stage Three,
  • Module,
  • Landscape systems,
  • Environmental interactions and management
  • Overview
  • Caves, Crags and Cannibals?
  • Cheddar Climbing and Conflict
  • Underworld
  • Save our caves
  • Into Titan
  • Over the sea to Skye
  • A walk around the Quiraing
  • Assessment

A walk around the Quiraing

Key questions

What is the Quiraing?

Can you plan a walking route around the Quiraing using an OS map?

What is the Quiraing?

The Quiraing, a fascinating landscape on the Trotternish peninsula on Skye, results largely from geomorphological processes resulting from gravity. The whole of the Trotternish Ridge escarpment was formed by a great series of landslips. The dramatic Quiraing which is the largest landslip in Britain, with five stages of movement identified, extends to a width of 2km from the scarp slope to the coast. Some sections of the landslide are still active as evidenced by the need for regular repairs to the local road.

The landscape has a number of distinctive features which have earned specific names The Needle is a jagged 120-foot high pinnacle to the northwest is The Table, a flat area that has slipped down from the plateau whereas to the southwest is the Prison. Trotternish is probably the second most popular visitor location on Skye after the Cuillin Hills the next most visited part of Skye with stunning scenery at the Quirang making it popular with walkers and photographers.

The geology of the Trotternish peninsular consists of Jurassic sediments, clays, shales and sandstones overlain by thick lava flows. The rocks dip gently westwards, creating gently rising slopes from west to east however these are cut by faults running N-S along the peninsula. The landslides were formed due to the overlying weight of the lava flows approximately 300m thick, weighing down on the weaker Jurassic sedimentary rocks. Under the pressure, the Jurassic rocks sheared along the N-S faults and huge lava blocks slid seawards along a rotational glide plane. A steep scarp slope is found on its eastern margin.

Links

  • Ordnance Survey Getamap

  • Skye Walk Quiraing

  • Photos for plenary

Starter

View of the Quiraing

Image courtesy of Coda shared under the following creative commons license

Can you suggest how it was formed?

Do you think it was formed as the result of:

  • Volcanic eruptions

  • Earthquakes

  • Coastal erosion

  • Landslips

Main Activity 

Read a description of a walk around the Quiraing.

Plot a route around the Quiraing on an OS map. You can get a map by going to the Ordnance Survey getamap service and typing in the following grid reference into the search box and printing: NG452691

If you get stuck or need a clue you can see a route.

Create a route card of your planned walk.

Plenary

Try and locate the photographs below on your map.

Write down which direction the camera was facing when the pictures were taken.

The Needle 

   

The Prison

The Table

Images courtesy of Erik, Stinging Eyes and Wilm under a Creative Commons ShareAlike2.0 licence.

Downloads

  • Adventure Landscapes Lesson 7 Adventure Routecard (.doc)
  • Adventure Landscapes Lesson 7 Adventure Routecard (.pdf)
  • Download all

Login

Sign in
Forgotten password

Or continue as a guest...

By placing a booking, you are permitting us to store and use your (and any other attendees) details in order to fulfil the booking.
We will not use your details for marketing purposes without your explicit consent.

Continue

This content is restricted

You must be a member holding a valid Society membership to view the content you are trying to access. Please login to continue.

 

Not a member? Find out how to join

Join us today, Society membership is open to anyone with a passion for geography

Find out more

Address

Royal Geographical Society
(with the Institute of British Geographers),
1 Kensington Gore,
London, SW7 2AR

Registered Charity, 208791

E enquiries@rgs.org

T +44 (0)20 7591 3000
 

Follow us

We are the learned society for geography and geographers. Be part of our community by following us on our social media accounts.

  • twitter
  • youtube
  • linkedin
  • facebook
  • instagram

Links

  • MYSOCIETY LOGIN
    Vacancies
    PRESS AND MEDIA
    HIRE OUR VENUE
    PRIVACY NOTICE
    Accessibility
    SITE MAP

  •  

Cookies on the RGS website This site uses cookies to enhance your user experience.