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Scotland is the most mountainous country in the United Kingdom. The area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault is known as the Highlands, and contains the country's main mountain ranges. Scotland's mountain ranges, in a rough north to south direction are: The Highlands & Islands, The Hills of the Central Lowlands, the Southern Uplands. The zone includes Britain's highest peaks, especially Ben Nevis at over 4000 feet, with several similar peaks in the Cairngorms. Some of the most spectacular mountains occur in the northwest highlands, especially on Skye, the largest island off the coast. On the mainland nearby lie some great ranges based on the Torridonian sandstone, a Precambrian rock which overlies yet older rocks such as the Lewisian gneiss. Some of the highest peaks, such as Beinn Eighe are crowned by white quartzite, which gives those peaks a distinctive appearance. The trend continues to the north with larger caps of the white rock at Foinaven and Arkle (hill). Some of the quartzite contains fossilized worm burrows. It is known as ''pipe rock'' and is circa 500 million years old. The formation continues to the north with gigantic peaks such as An Teallach near Ullapool and Stac Polly in Sutherland. The Torridonian rocks continue south to Applecross opposite Skye, where similar massive mountains occur. The Black Cuillin are mainly composed of basalt and gabbro, the latter being a very rough rock which makes for superb grip for mountaineers. It is from the dark colour of the gabbro that the Black Cuillin receive their name. The summits of the Cuillin are bare rock, jagged in outline and with steep cliffs and deep cut corries and gullies. *The Northwest Highlands, lying to the north and west of the Great Glen. *The Cuillin, on the Isle of Skye. *The Grampians, the main belt of mountains across the centre of Scotland. *The Cairngorms form the eastern part of the Grampians. *The Torridon Hills of Wester Ross The mountains exhibit many notable individual peaks and many exceed 3000 feet in height, so qualifying as Munros. Ben Nevis exceeds 4000 feet. To the south, Glen Coe has many notable mountains, such as Buachaille Etive Mòr and Bidean nam Bian, both of which are Munros. There is also a famous ridge walk, the Aonach Eagach, on the opposite side of the glen. The ridge is one of the most popular scrambles in the entire country, being a craggy arête with few escape routes. The approximate southern-boundary of the Cairngorms range runs from slightly east of Braemar, west along Glen Dee to White Bridge, through Glen Geldie to the head of Glen Feshie. The western-boundary runs down Glen Feshie (northward) and the River Spey to Aviemore. The northern-boundary runs roughly eastward from Aviemore through Glen More to Glen Avon. The eastern-boundary then runs (southward) up Glen Avon, and over Am Bealach Dearg to slightly east of Braemar. The Cairngorms feature the highest, coldest and snowiest plateaux in the British Isles and are home to five of the six highest mountains in Scotland: Ben Macdui, Braeriach, Cairn Toul, Sgor an Lochain Uaine and Cairn Gorm. These mountains are all Munros, and there are a further 13 mountains with this categorisation across the area, of which another five are among the twenty highest peaks in the country. To the south of the Cairngorms is a separate distinct range, The Grampians. ==Hills of the Central Lowlands== The southern and eastern parts of Scotland are usually referred to as the Scottish Lowlands, but these areas also have significant ranges of hills, although these are lower than the Highland mountains. Because they are much closer to towns and cities, they are more popular for hill walking and rambling than the more distant mountains of the northern Highlands. *The Sidlaws, north of Dundee but south east of the Highland Boundary Fault; *The Ochil Hills, east of Stirling; *The Campsie Fells, north of Glasgow; In addition to the main ranges, there are numerous individual hills in the Lowlands, often volcanic in origin. Many are known by the Scots word ''Law'', meaning hill. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mountains and hills of Scotland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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