352 



ON THE HIGHLANDS 



the residence of the Scottish Kings, of which, on 

 the north, Dundgairdghall is in sight, while to 

 the south, it commands a view of the lower 

 grounds, towards the entrance of Loch-Linnhe, by 

 which an enemy might approach. 



All the strata on the west side of Loch-Linnhe, 

 opposite to Fort-William, and on the north side 

 of Loch-Eil, where the grand Caledonian Canal 

 is now begun, consist of gneiss and mica-slate, 

 which at various places present a great variety of 

 peculiar phenomena in their structure. This is 

 found more particularly on the w T est side of 

 Loch-Linnhe, where the face of the rock, from 

 the shore to a considerable distance on the rising 

 grounds behind, is singularly penetrated with 

 veins and masses of quartz, felspar, and often 

 calc-spar. 



In the uppfer quarry, at this termination of the 

 canal, some interesting examples of such veins 

 may be observed. They are either granite, or 

 chiefly felspar, or felspar and quartz. The prin- 

 cipal vein terminates below, in a number of small 

 filaments, but spreads out upwards to a great 

 breadth, overtopping the whole of the stratified 

 matter. An attentive examination of the speci- 

 mens shews satisfactorily, that most of the ap- 

 pearances now described, belong to the original 

 structure of the rock ; in the mass of which, 

 sometimes the quartz, at others the felspar, pre- 

 vails, to the exclusion of the other ingredients. 

 The veins are filled with materials similar to the 



