SANDSTONE OF THE WESTERN COAST. 91 



result from the suddenness of their rise ; the summit 

 together with the whole declivity being visible from 

 the base. In this manner Sleugach is seen from Loch 

 Mare, presenting a very striking object, with an alpine 

 effect rarely found in Scotland ; where the foreshortening 

 that results from a gradual declivity, generally conceals 

 the summit and diminishes the apparent altitude.* It 

 may easily be imagined that under these circumstances 

 the mountains of red sandstone are very difficult of 

 access : in some cases they are inaccessible except to 

 the practised shepherds. 



With respect to the structure of this rock, it presents 

 various aspects, although it is always stratified. In the 

 predominant examples the strata are very thin and equal, 

 and in all these cases the angle of inclination is low, 

 deviating in some instances but slightly from the 

 horizontal position. It is not uncommon for the beds 

 to possess a schistose, or at least, a flaggy structure, 

 of which the two Ben derigs in Diurness present re- 

 markable examples ; their summits exhibiting a continuous 

 surface resembling a pavement of loosened tiles. At 

 Locji Torridon, where the same structure exists, the 

 surfaces of the flags bear those marks of undulation 

 which occur in the secondary sandstones and resemble 

 so much the marks left by the sea on sandy shores. 



Where the angle of inclination becomes considerable, 

 the distinctness of the stratification diminishes ; and where 

 the beds assume the vertical position, it requires great 



* On the declivity of the adjoining mountain Ben lair, which descends 

 into Loch Mare, are seen the remains of one of the ancient fir forests 

 of Scotland in a very singular situation. The angle of declivity is here not 

 less than sixty or seventy degrees, and the face is a naked rock without 

 an atom of verdure, except in a few of the rifts which pervade it. 

 At a short distance it resembles a huge wail, of many hundred acies 

 in superficies, and not less than 400 or 500 feet in height. This is 

 every where covered with trees of large growth, their roots penetrating 

 tke fissures and their tops standing out from -the rock behind at a 

 very short distance. The effect hence produced is very striking. 



