Assynt, in the Scottish Highlands, is one of the largest of our #100geosites, incorporating a number of smaller geological sites. Because of this, we received a number of entries to our photo competition which fall within its boundaries!

The Assynt landscape is dominated by Inselbergs, or “Island Mountains”, the word used by geologists to describe these strange, isolated peaks made from Torridonian Sandstone and laid down as sand in rivers some 1,000 million years ago.

Erosion during many Ice Ages has exposed and carved them to create the unforgettable and distinctive scenery we see today. But there are other, equally photogenic scenes in the area.

Chris Satow, a Lecturer in Physical Geography at Kingston University, sent us this beautiful shot of the Bone Caves, behind the Hamlet of Inchnadamph:

Says Chris:

“My colleagues and I took some time out from helping to supervise undergraduate geological mapping training in the area with Edinburgh University to take a walk up to the famous bone caves.

“We noticed that the mouth of the cave provided a geological frame for photographs and had some fun making silouettes of animals which might have once lived in the cave; wolves, bears, lynx and the like. This is the most sedate shot before the silliness started!”

He also sent us this beautiful image of Assynt in the evening light.