North West Highlands Geopark Travel Guide — Things to Do, Food & Hotels
UNESCO Geopark in the Scottish Highlands
About North West Highlands Geopark
North West Highlands Geopark is one of 81 European Geoparks endorsed by UNESCO. It was awarded this status in 2004 for its geological variety - especially for the clash of strata, with older rocks overlying younger, that forced 19th century geologists to totally rethink their ideas. Its principal components are the 3 billion year old Lewisian Gneiss, the Torridonian Sandstone, the white quartzite capping many mountains and a large limestone area. Moine Thrust is the fault line that built the Caledonian mountains 400 million years ago, and during the Ice Ages these were sculpted by vast glaciers. The area has little by way of mineral deposits, and poor soil for agriculture, so it's thinly populated and little developed. The vegetation is mostly heath, coarse grass and peat bog, with few tre
North West Highlands Geopark Travel Guide Sections
Our comprehensive guide covers 8 sections including: