the dominant formations of shell sand and peat mentioned in later chapters of this book, are summarised by G.E. Farrow (1983).
The rocks of the Hebrides have therefore a dramatic story to tell. Those who have an eye for country can read the geology of the islands from their architecture, often at a great distance. The shape of the granite and quartzite hills is distinct from the gabbro, and both are distinct from the basalt. In Skye the granites of the Red Cuillin are cheek-by-jowl with the gabbros of the Black Cuillin; the former are smooth paps and the latter are a jumble of serrated peaks and ridges. The same is seen at St Kilda; viewed from North Uist on a clear day, the smooth granite cones of Conachair and Oiseval are flanked by the peaked gabbro of Dun, Mullach Bi and Boreray. The basalt islands, of which Canna, western Mull and northern Skye are typical, have stepped landscapes with beetling, horizontal scarps, terraces, tablelands, and galleried sea-cliffs several hundred metres high—the eroded basalt gives the Treshnish Isles the look of a fleet of dreadnoughts. The ecological effects of the country rocks is usually masked by wind-blown sand, a blanket of peat, or by agricultural improvement. However, the greenery of hill and wood in Raasay, Strath and Ord in Skye, Gribun and Loch Don in Mull, Lismore and around Ballygrant in Islay strongly suggests the presence of limestone.
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