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Ben Nevis—remnant of a lost volcanic landscape
Author(s) -
Muir R.J.,
Vaughan A.P.M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
geology today
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.188
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1365-2451
pISSN - 0266-6979
DOI - 10.1111/gto.12234
Subject(s) - geology , caldera , volcano , lava , pyroclastic rock , rhyolite , volcanic plateau , volcanic rock , devonian , andesite , volcanic cone , geomorphology , geochemistry , paleontology
The summit region of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain, consists of late Silurian to Early Devonian age volcanic rocks originally interpreted as a thick sequence (> 600 m) of andesite lavas and agglomerates that were down‐faulted during caldera subsidence. New digital field mapping of the Ben Nevis area, including both the steep north and south faces of the mountain, has revealed that the volcanic rocks consist largely of volcaniclastic debris flows, and extensive block and ash flow deposits with minor air‐fall tuff units. There is no evidence of any andesite lava flows or a volcanic vent. The volcanic detritus was derived from a volcanic centre situated to the NW of Ben Nevis, perhaps several tens of kilometres away. The rocks forming the summit region of the mountain have been re‐interpreted as a large roof pendant or keel of the former late Silurian to Early Devonian volcanic land surface that once covered much of the SW Highlands of Scotland.