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- Mountain building in Scotland
Mountain building in Scotland

Some of Britain's most dramatic scenery is to be found in the Scottish Highlands. The sight of mighty Ben Nevis, the desolate plateau of the Cairngorms, or the imposing landscapes of Glen Coe can unleash the call of the wild in all of us. Although these landforms were largely carved by glacial activity that ended some 10,000 years ago, the rocks themselves tell of a much older history. The Highlands are merely eroded stumps of a much higher range of ancient mountains. This free course, Mountain building in Scotland, is an account of the origin and demise of that ancient mountain range, based on the geological evidence laid before us in rock exposures.
Course learning outcomes
After studying this course, you should be able to:
- describe the geological history of the Scottish Highlands
- give examples of igneous, metamorphic and structurally complex rocks.
First Published: 09/08/2012
Updated: 02/03/2016
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Course content
- Introduction
- Learning outcomes
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Britain's oldest rocks: remnants of Archaean crust
- 3 Orogenies in the Proterozoic
- 4 Continental break up and opening of the lapetus Ocean
- 5 Arc-continent collision: the Grampian phase of the Caledonian Orogeny
- 6 Exhumation of the Grampian mountains
- 7 Sedimentation and tectonics at a mid-Ordovician to Silurian active margin
- 8 Multiple plate collisions and the end of the Iapetus Ocean
- 9 Sedimentation at the end of the Caledonian Orgeny; Section 10 Legacy
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
1 Introduction File
2 Britain's oldest rocks: remnants of Archaean crust File
3 Orogenies in the Proterozoic File
4 Continental break up and opening of the lapetus Ocean File
5 Arc-continent collision: the Grampian phase of the Caledonian Orogeny File
6 Exhumation of the Grampian mountains File
7 Sedimentation and tectonics at a mid-Ordovician to Silurian active margin File
8 Multiple plate collisions and the end of the Iapetus Ocean File
9 Sedimentation at the end of the Caledonian Orgeny File
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30 hours study
Level 3: Advanced
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