Loch Spelve
Loch Spelve is a sea loch on the south-east coast of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides and in Argyllshire. The loch is almost landlocked, with a relatively narrow opening onto the Firth of Lorn.
The A849 road runs past the northern arm of the loch and a minor road runs south from it and around the shore of the western arm by way of Kinlochspelve as far as the settlement of Croggan. Raised beaches are notable features of the loch, particularly on the shores of the narrows through which it enters the open waters of the firth.
A few rocky islets lie within the loch, the largest of which is Eilean Amalaig on which are the ruins of a castle.
There is a terminal moraine at Kinlochspelve dating from the last Ice Age.[1] The southern and eastern shores of Loch Spelve are formed from basalt lava flows of Palaeogene age, intruded by numerous dolerite dykes. The northern and western shores are formed in granophyres and Triassic sandstones, the latter intruded by olivine-dolerite cone sheets associated with the Palaeogene volcanism.[2]
Though unseen at the surface, the Great Glen Fault is usually considered to run beneath this loch and nearby Loch Buie.
Location
- Location map: 56°23’17"N, 5°43’48"W
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References
- ↑ Emeleus, C.H.; Bell, B.R. (2005). British Regional Geology: the Palaeogene volcanic districts of Scotland (Fourth ed.). Nottingham: British Geological Survey. p. 161. ISBN 0852725191.
- ↑ Template:Cite map