Oblique aerial photograph of the line of the Ochil Fault, Ochil Hills, Stirlingshire. This spot was active in 1736, during 1900–1916 and in 1979. ... Drew Jamieson – has recently published a detailed geography of the Ochil Hills. The hills are part of a Devonian lava extrusion whose appearance today is largely due to the Ochil Fault which results in the southern face of the hills forming an escarpment. The Ochil Fault was active from the earliest part of the Carboniferous period, allowing the marine swamps in which the coal-producing vegetation flourished to be periodically overlain by layers of sand, forming sandstone, or silt, forming shale, in a number of cyclic subsidences. Modern movements of the fault are very minor but occasionally give rise to discernible earthquakes,[3] particularly in the village of Menstrie, and the town of Tillicoultry. The name Ochil, recorded as Okhel in the 13th Century, is of Pictish origin. The geology of the Stirling district. The Ochil Hills . A Special Place Created Date: 6/27/2017 12:54:24 PM Regional Geology. Intrusions of both mafic and felsic character are also found. Heavy Metal Mines in the Ochil Hills: Chronology and Context By John G Harrison INTRODUCTION In recent decades the mines of the Ochil Hills, in east central Scotland, have attracted the interest of speleologists, mineralogists, ceramists, and botanists1. Fault Scarp - Ochil Hills The line of the Ochil Fault can be traced across this image, which shows the sheer scarp slope of the Ochil Hills rising up over the downthrown plain below. The highest point is Ben Cleuchin Clackmannanshireat 2,365 feet. The Ochil Fault, one of the most prominent tectonic features in the Midland Valley of Scotland, juxtaposes Lower Devonian volcanic rocks against late Westphalian strata, implying a possible vertical displacement of … Highland Boundary Fault - Conic Hill There has also been swarm activity in the Central Valley of Scotland by the Ochil Hills (near Stirling). Although the geological structure of Old Red Sandstone lavas, continues into north-east Fife, the hills lose much of their presence and cohesion in this area. Following approval in early 2007, the construction of a wind farm consisting of thirteen 102 m (335 ft) turbines on Burnfoot Hill, which lies north of Tillicoultry and Ben Cleuch and to the south of the Upper Glendevon Reservoir has been completed. Ancient folklore and historical documentation suggests that the Ochils once were inhabited by the Picts, or at least that a few Pictish settlements existed in the Ochil Hills. References: British Geological Survey Photographic Archive (website) Francis, E.H. Name: Ochil Hills, Perth and Kinross Place type: Hill Or Mountain Ranges Location: Grid Ref: NO 0795 1114 • X/Y co-ords: 307954, 711142 • Lat/Long: 56.28379822,-3.48839362 1. Immediately to the north is the campus of Stirling University and Airthrey Loch. Covid-19 has significantly affected our fundraising. Since 1846 small shocks have been observed at Comrie on a regular, if infrequent, basis. The Ochil Fault remained active throughout geological time, and some later movements allowed intrusive eruptions of diorite or quartz-dolerite to rise at various places along its length. Historically, the hills, combined with the town's site at the lowest bridging-point on the River Forth, led to Stirling's importance as a main gateway to the Highlands. Alluvial gold is wide-spread and locally abundant in the central Ochil Hills, but the bedrock sources have not been identified. The Path of Condie is a very old established collecting site. The Ochil Fault is the geological feature which defines the southern edge of the Ochil Hills escarpment in Scotland. The plateau is undulating with no prominent peak. The Ochil Fault, one of the most prominent tectonic features in the Midland Valley of Scotland, juxtaposes Lower Devonian volcanic rocks against late Westphalian strata, implying a possible vertical displacement of … Glenfarg, Ochil Hills, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, UK : SUPPORT US. Welsh uchel). The hills are part of a Devonian lava extrusion whose appearance today is largely due to the Ochil Fault which results in the southern face of the hills forming an escarpment. To put this in perspective, the prominent hill Dumyat which defines the western extremity of the Ochil Hills has a height of 418 metres. North of the fault, Devonianlavaflows and pyroclastic deposits slope gently down, thinning towards the north. 243 at the surface between the Ochil Hills and Stirling. The Ochil Faultis the geological feature which defines the southern edge of the Ochil Hillsescarpment, Scotland. … The Ochil Fault is the geological feature which defines the southern edge of the Ochil Hills escarpment in Scotland. The point of maximum downwards movement south of the fault lies just south of the Silver Glen, which happens to be the part of the Ochil Hills where the greatest extent of mineralisation has been discovered. The formation comprises over 2000m of subaerial basaltic and andesitic lava flows with interbedded terrestrial debris-flow conglomerates. The south-flowing burns have cut deep ravines including Dollar Glen, Silver Glen and Alva Glen, often only passable with the aid of wooden walkways. [5], The Ochil Volcanic Formation, a sub-unit of the Arbuthnott-Garvock Group, consists of basaltic andesite and trachyandesite lavas and related rock types erupted during the Early Devonian epoch. In the early Industrial Revolution, several mill towns such as Tillicoultry, Alva and Menstrie (the Hillfoots Villages) grew up in the shadow of the Ochils to tap the water power. There were several excellent locations but the most productive, Borland Glen (7), yielded gold with a distinctive telluride signature in … Northern Ochil hills PDF. [10] The windfarm is owned and run by EDF Renewables, who support the work of the Ochils Mountain Rescue Team through the Burnfoot Hill Community Fund with an annual donation of £5,000 guaranteed till 2039. Glacial till covers much of the lower ground around and within the range and peat accumulations occur on the plateau surface particularly in the west.[7]. [3], The Ochils are formed from a thick wedge of Devonian age volcanic and volcano-sedimentary rocks, rising up from below the lower Old Red Sandstone sedimentary rocks to the north and terminated to the south by the major southerly downthrowing Ochil Fault. Peaks over 3,000 ft (914.4 m) are known as Munros. It continues for about 9 miles along the southern edge of the Ochil Hills, from Blairlogie in the west to past Dollar in the east. The Ochil Hills were a popular destination for panners in the 1990s. Castle Campbell was built at the head of Dollar Glen in the late 15th century (an earlier castle on the site had been called "Castle Gloom") mainly as a very visible symbol of the Campbell domination of the area. Blairdenon Hill was the site of one of the Beacons of Dissent during the G8 protests in July 2005. Some of the mills are open today as museums. The purpose of the trip on the hottest weekend of the year was to look at the Lower Devonian Ochil Volcanic Formation Lavas and volcanic conglomerates, and the … He goes on to say "that the great crags of Dumyat less than a mile to the east is universally credited with being the last Pictish stronghold at the old hillfort there. Ochil hills over 600m PDF. Stay safe in the Ochils and always take a map and compass. Mountains in Scotland are categorised by their height. The oldest rocks cropping out in the County are of the Ochil Volcanic Formation in the Ochil Hills. The deepest deposits of coal measures are obviously found in this region, but this has not been mined to its full extent, probably due to the great depth involved. Leader: Dr. Mike Browne. The plateau is undulating with no prominent peak, the highest point being Ben Cleuch at 721 m (2,365 ft) . The only major roads crossing the hills pass through Glen Devon/Glen Eagles and Glenfarg, the latter now largely replaced except for local traffic by the M90 Edinburgh-Perth motorway cutting through the eastern foothills. 1). Rather, they lead onto the peak of Ben Shee, Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}56°13′43″N 3°40′01″W / 56.22861°N 3.66694°W / 56.22861; -3.66694, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba (AÀA) – Gaelic Place-names of Scotland", "Approaching the Pictish language: historiography, early evidence and the question of Pritenic", "Geological Survey of Great Britain (Scotland), 1:50000 Solid Edition, Alloa, sheet 39E", "Castle Craig, Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire", "Katie Thirsty's Well, Logie, Stirlingshire", https://www.edf-re.uk/our-sites/burnfoot-hill-burnfoot-hill-north-rhodders, "Burnfoot Hill, Burnfoot Hill North & Rhodders", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ochil_Hills&oldid=997400282, Mountains and hills of Stirling (council area), Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from April 2019, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing Scottish Gaelic-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Big Torry (452 m) (Wee Torry is marked as a peak, but widely considered to simply be the southern face of Big Torry), Notes on "List of peaks in the Ochil Hills", This page was last edited on 31 December 2020, at 09:15. Drew describes the Ochil Hills as a “Special Place”. Because the deposits thin towards the north, and there are few signs of volcanic necks within the Ochil Hills themselves, it is thought that the eruptive centres were south of the fault, however these are buried deep beneath the Carboniferous rocks including coal measures which are found beneath the low-lying carse lands to the south.[1]. Ochil Volcanic Formation and the Quaternary of Glen Devon August 9th 2003. Alluvial gold is wide-spread and locally abundant in the central Ochil Hills, but the bedrock sources have not been identified. Such ranges include the Ochil Hills, near Stirling, the Campsie Fells outside Glasgow, and the Lomond Hills in Fife. North of the fault, These occurred in the form of basins, and the pattern of movements was complex, however it is known that the greatest vertical movement was centred about 1 km east of the town of Alva, and almost certainly exceeded 5 km vertically. It is intruded by numerous dykes of micridiorite of Silurian/Devonian age which form a part of the North Britain Siluro-Devonian Calc-alkaline Dyke Suite. The hills are part of a Devonian lava extrusion whose appearance today is largely due to the Ochil Faultwhich … In the southern part of East Fife the hills are relatively isolated, e.g. We take a look at the early Iron Age settlement on Dumyat, the possible medieval hunting lodge behind Castle Campbell in Dollar, the Ochils' contribution to local industries - not least textiles, urbanisation, and recreation. Edinburgh : HMSO, 1970 South of the HBF are younger sedimentary rocks with lava extrusions (Lower Devonian) which form the Ochil Hills on the southern fringes of Strathearn. The highest levels – Innerdouny (497 metres) and Mellock (479 metres) – are in the west, heights decreasing gradually to below 150 metres in the area north of Auchtermuchty . To the NE, the scarp of the West Ochil Fault, one of the most spectacular in the Midland Valley, is well seen. The site consists of fifteen 2 MW and six 2.05 MW turbines with a tip height of 100 m (330 ft). The Ochil Fault is one of Britain's finest examples of a fault line scarp,[4] and can be best appreciated from vantage points such as the Wallace Monument near Stirling. A band of this formation runs from Gargunnock to the Clyde ; and 1 believe there are quarries in it near Gargunnock, but have not seen them myself. THE GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTRY ROUND STIRLING. Local historians have struggled to discover exactly the identity of "Katie Thirsty", but Pictish researcher Ronald Henderson argues that "the name derives from a corruption of both St. Katherine of Alexandria [Katie] and the Pictish King, Drust or Drustan [Thirsty]." "[9], An 18-turbine development, approved in June 2006, has been constructed at Green Knowes, south of Auchterarder, north of Glendevon about 400 m (1,300 ft) north of the Ben Thrush summit. Illustrated with many diagrams and drawings and some photographs. Castle Craig, a ruined ancient fort above the village of Mill Glen destroyed by industrial quarrying, was mentioned by local historian William Gibson in 1883 as being "a round Pictish fortress, the traces of which can still be distinctly seen. both from the geological setting and microchemical signature of the gold. [11], The Ochil Hills are home to the Ochils Mountain Rescue Team (founded in 1971), a local division of the Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland. North of the fault, Devonian lava flows and pyroclastic deposits slope gently down, thinning towards the north. [4] It is less likely[4] that the name involves the adjective *uchel meaning "high, tall" (c.f. Marked as 350 metres. Abstract The Ochil Hills, running northeastwards from the Forth at Stirling, to Tentsmuir on the North Sea coast, are the most Impressive and most extensive of the several uplands which diversify the Central Lowlands of Scotland (Fig. The only major roads crossing the hills pass through Glen Devon/Glen Eagles and Glenfarg, the latter now largely replaced except for local traffic by the M90 Edinburgh-Perth motorway cutting through the eastern foothills. Berry Hill and The Shank (near NN 9591 0456) are marked as hills on OS maps, but fail to have distinguishable peaks. "[8]Old lore also told that some of the stones from the fort of Castle Craig were used in the construction of Stirling Castle, 7 3⁄4 miles (12.5 kilometres) to the west. Geography and geology The hills are part of a Devonian lava extrusion whose appearance today is largely due to the Ochil Fault which results in the southern face of the hills forming an escarpment. 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ochil hills geology 2021