Great Glen
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The Great Glen (
The glen is a natural travelling route in the Highlands of Scotland, which is used by both the Caledonian Canal and the A82 road, which link the city of Inverness on the northeast coast with Fort William on the west coast. The Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway was built in 1896 from the southern end of the glen to the southern end of Loch Ness, but was never extended to Inverness. The railway closed in 1947. In 2002, the Great Glen Way was opened. A long-distance route for cyclists, canoeists, and walkers, it consists of a series of footpaths, forestry tracks, canal paths and occasional stretches of road linking Fort William to Inverness.[1][2][3]
The glen's strategic importance in controlling the Highland
Much of the glen is taken up with a series of lochs, with rivers connecting them. The Caledonian Canal also uses the lochs as part of the route, but the rivers are not navigable. From northeast to southwest, the natural water features along the Great Glen are:
- River Ness (Abhainn Nis)
- Loch Dochfour (Loch Dabhach Phuir)
- Loch Ness (Loch Nis)
- River Oich (Abhainn Omhaich)
- Loch Oich (Loch Omhaich)
- Loch Lochy (Loch Lochaidh)
- River Lochy (Abhainn Lochaidh)
- Loch Linnhe (An Linne Dhubh)
The
Seismic activity
Although earthquakes in the vicinity of the Great Glen Fault tend to be minor, seismic activity is a consideration in the design of infrastructure. For example, the Kessock Bridge includes seismic buffers.[4]
References
- ^ The Great Glen Way, Paddy Dillon, Cicerone, 2007
- ^ Great Glen Way - Route
- ^ "Home | GGCT".
- seismic buffers, and these were planned during the design stage of the bridge.
57°18′N 4°27′W / 57.30°N 4.45°W
