Highland Way, also cuts through the park and these walkers often
frequent Conic Hill. Tourism has a long history in the Loch Lomond and the
Trossachs area and the variety of scenery and Highland/Lowland contrasts
attracts as many visitors today as it did 200 years ago when Sir Walter Scott
wrote about it.
The view of the Highland Boundary Fault from atop Conic Hill. Another island in Loch Lomond, Inchconnachan, has a wallaby colony introduced in the 1920's.
Fingal’s Cave, on the island of Staffa became the inspiration for
Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture in 1832. The ensuing surge of attention is one
of the earliest examples of public imagination being fueled by a geological
feature, and it is no wonder. Fingal’s Cave, though geographically small,
offers a package of baffling marvel. It is the only sea cave formed completely
by hexagonal columnar basalt, with astonishing symmetry. It lies just above water
level, allowing visitors in enter is cathedral-like interior, where the sounds
of the waves reverberate off the rock pillars creating a unique experience for
all who enter. The
geological formation of this cave is as unique for its resounding qualities and its entirely natural structure.
After the three
ancient continents collided to form what we now know as the United Kingdom, the
Earths crust began stretching apart and forming the Atlantic Ocean. During this
stretching, the mantle began to melt an magma welled up beneath the crust
forming ‘hot spots.’ Around 61-55 million years ago, deep fractures in the
crust allowed the magma rise and erupt at the surface. The lava flows from
these eruptions built up vast plateaus in the Inner Hebrides but can also be
found on the islands of Mull, Iona and Staffa. The hexagonal columns were
formed when the lava cooled and shrank as it solidified, jointing and cracking
into these distinct shapes. This hexagonal jointing is an entirely natural phenomenon
and can be seen when mud dries out; since the lava contracts inwards as it
cools, the polygonal jointing is essentially the most ‘economical’ shape for
the rock to attain.
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