﻿THE 
  GLACIAL 
  PERIOD 
  IN 
  NORTH 
  BRITAIN. 
  325 
  

  

  the 
  sea. 
  These 
  mark 
  the 
  last 
  stages 
  of 
  the 
  glacier. 
  Corresponding 
  

   moraines 
  occur 
  in 
  Glen 
  Dee 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  ravines 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  side 
  of 
  

   the 
  Cairngorm 
  mountains. 
  

  

  That 
  the 
  glacier 
  of 
  the 
  Dee 
  actually 
  did 
  come 
  far 
  down 
  the 
  valley 
  

   after 
  the 
  land 
  emerged 
  is 
  also 
  shown 
  by 
  a 
  remarkably 
  fine 
  series 
  of 
  

   terminal 
  moraines 
  in 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Feugh, 
  which 
  is 
  a 
  tributary 
  

   of 
  the 
  Dee. 
  These 
  moraines 
  occur 
  at 
  levels 
  of 
  300 
  and 
  400 
  feet. 
  

   They 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  perfectly 
  undisturbed, 
  and, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  can 
  judge, 
  

   have 
  never 
  been 
  touched 
  by 
  the 
  sea 
  since 
  they 
  were 
  formed. 
  Oc- 
  

   curring 
  as 
  they 
  do 
  at 
  these 
  low 
  levels, 
  they 
  afford 
  good 
  evidence 
  of 
  

   the 
  advance 
  made 
  by 
  the 
  later 
  glaciers. 
  The 
  Feugh 
  takes 
  its 
  rise 
  

   at 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  Mount 
  Battock 
  (2555 
  feet), 
  and, 
  after 
  a 
  course 
  of 
  about 
  

   fifteen 
  miles, 
  falls 
  into 
  the 
  south 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  Dee, 
  at 
  the 
  village 
  

   of 
  Banchory, 
  which 
  is 
  eighteen 
  miles 
  from 
  Aberdeen 
  and 
  150 
  feet 
  

   above 
  the 
  sea. 
  On 
  walking 
  up 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Feugh 
  for 
  about 
  a 
  

   couple 
  of 
  miles 
  we 
  meet 
  with 
  a 
  moraine 
  at 
  a 
  place 
  called 
  Gellan, 
  on 
  

   the 
  south 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  stream. 
  This 
  moraine 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  formed 
  

   by 
  the 
  glacier 
  of 
  the 
  Feugh 
  after 
  it 
  had 
  been 
  joined 
  by 
  those 
  of 
  its 
  

   two 
  tributaries, 
  the 
  Avon 
  and 
  the 
  Dye. 
  The 
  moraine 
  here 
  comes 
  

   down 
  below 
  the 
  level 
  of 
  300 
  feet 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  glacier, 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  its 
  

   formation, 
  was 
  about 
  thirteen 
  miles 
  long. 
  Proceeding 
  two 
  miles 
  

   further 
  up 
  the 
  valley, 
  immediately 
  after 
  passing 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  

   the 
  Dye, 
  we 
  come 
  to 
  a 
  fine 
  moraine 
  at 
  a 
  level 
  of 
  about 
  300 
  feet, 
  

   which 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  formed 
  by 
  the 
  united 
  glaciers 
  of 
  the 
  Feugh 
  

   and 
  the 
  Avon, 
  when 
  the 
  ice-stream 
  was 
  ten 
  or 
  twelve 
  miles 
  in 
  

   length. 
  The 
  great 
  size 
  of 
  this 
  moraine 
  marks 
  a 
  very 
  long 
  pause 
  of 
  

   the 
  glacier 
  here. 
  The 
  quantity 
  of 
  debris 
  is 
  enormous, 
  especially 
  on 
  

   the 
  south 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  valley, 
  where 
  it 
  forms 
  a 
  range 
  of 
  mounds 
  com- 
  

   posed 
  of 
  gravel, 
  sand, 
  and 
  rolled 
  boulders. 
  One 
  of 
  these 
  hillocks, 
  

   called 
  the 
  Dunimore, 
  is 
  about 
  120 
  feet 
  high. 
  In 
  some 
  of 
  these 
  

   ridges 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  considerable 
  quantity 
  of 
  washed 
  sand, 
  like 
  river- 
  

   sand 
  ; 
  others 
  are 
  composed 
  of 
  blocks 
  and 
  boulders 
  of 
  granite 
  mixed 
  

   with 
  rough 
  stony 
  debris, 
  while 
  a 
  few 
  consist 
  of 
  a 
  mass 
  of 
  boulders 
  

   of 
  all 
  sizes 
  up 
  to 
  3 
  or 
  4 
  feet 
  in 
  length, 
  with 
  a 
  mixture 
  of 
  disin- 
  

   tegrated 
  granite. 
  All 
  the 
  material 
  of 
  the 
  moraine 
  on 
  the 
  south 
  side 
  

   of 
  the 
  valley 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  derived 
  from 
  granite 
  ; 
  but 
  on 
  the 
  opposite 
  

   side, 
  at 
  Whitestones, 
  much 
  of 
  it 
  consists 
  of 
  gneiss 
  and 
  crystalline 
  

   schist. 
  This 
  accords 
  with 
  the 
  distribution 
  of 
  the 
  rocks, 
  which 
  are 
  

   all 
  granite 
  on 
  the 
  south 
  side, 
  but 
  mostly 
  of 
  gneiss 
  on 
  the 
  north. 
  It 
  

   would 
  seem, 
  therefore, 
  that 
  the 
  debris 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  valley 
  

   has 
  been 
  kept 
  from 
  mingling 
  ; 
  and 
  this 
  is 
  just 
  what 
  a 
  glacier 
  would 
  

   do, 
  and 
  not 
  what 
  we 
  should 
  expect 
  had 
  these 
  mounds 
  been 
  heaped 
  

   together 
  by 
  the 
  sea. 
  In 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  the 
  valley, 
  which 
  is 
  here 
  very 
  

   flat, 
  the 
  moraine 
  has 
  been 
  swept 
  away. 
  The 
  river 
  Avon, 
  which 
  

   joins 
  the 
  Feugh 
  a 
  little 
  above 
  this, 
  is 
  a 
  small 
  stream 
  that 
  also 
  rises 
  

   at 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  Mount 
  Battock, 
  and 
  flows 
  along 
  a 
  deep, 
  narrow 
  lonely 
  

   glen, 
  or 
  gorge, 
  between 
  Clochnaben 
  (1944 
  feet) 
  and 
  Peter 
  Hill 
  

   (2023 
  feet). 
  There 
  is 
  a 
  fine 
  little 
  moraine 
  just 
  outside 
  the 
  entrance 
  

   to 
  the 
  gorge, 
  at 
  an 
  altitude 
  of 
  about 
  440 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  sea, 
  forming 
  

   a 
  characteristic 
  crescent-shaped 
  ridge, 
  dotted 
  over 
  with 
  large 
  granite 
  

  

  Q. 
  J. 
  G. 
  S. 
  No. 
  119. 
  2 
  a 
  

  

  