Newest and oldest munro

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.

Quick quiz time:

Geologically, which is the youngest and oldest munro? 

 Graeme G 01 May 2020
In reply to Heartinthe highlands:

Good question.

Oldest - Liathach?

Youngest - Ben Nevis?

In reply to Graeme G:

No Lewisian gneiss on liathach. A,Mhaighdean is possibly the best best on the oldest

In reply to The Watch of Barrisdale:

Oldest : A'Maighdean - a cap of Torridonian sandstone meets Lewisian gneiss at the summit. The Lewisian gneiss is ~3125 - 1700 Ma. 

Correct for oldest! It is A'Maighdean! 

Post edited at 18:38
 Sean Kelly 01 May 2020
In reply to Graeme G:

What about the Cuillin? Surely the youngest?

Post edited at 18:41
 Blunderbuss 01 May 2020
In reply to Sean Kelly:

Yes, 55m years ago I think...

In reply to Sean Kelly:

According to Colin Ballantyne's book on Scotland's mountain landscapes it is :

Youngest: Ben More on Mull - an uplifted cap of lavas erupted at ~60-58 Ma.

I will let people who know more than me argue it out! 

In reply to Sean Kelly:

Although the Cuillin formation are in that same period. 

 MG 01 May 2020
In reply to Heartinthe highlands:

Good question!

 Raskye 01 May 2020
In reply to Heartinthe highlands:

Hmmm... perhaps there’s one of those summits around the 3000ft mark which has achieved their magical status by isostacy in the past 10,000 years?

Just saying....

russellcampbell 01 May 2020
In reply to Heartinthe highlands:

> Correct for oldest! It is A'Maighdean! 

Arguably remotest Munro and one with best view from top as well.

 skog 01 May 2020
In reply to Heartinthe highlands:

Good question; it depends what you mean.

In terms of the age of the rocks exposed at their summits, I expect A'Mhaighdean must be the oldest, and the youngest has to be either Ben More on Mull or one of the Skye Cuillin summits, as all of these are Tertiary rocks.

You could alternatively look at when the mountains themselves were carved, but it isn't clear at what point they would count as the same mountain they are now; the newest would have formed in the last glacial period, but the oldest could maybe have formed a few glacial periods back. I'm not sure there's really any way to quantify this.

Of course, none of them were "Munros" at all until Sir Hugh drew up his tables. I'm not sure there's any record of how he compiled those; we might imagine that Ben Nevis could have been in there first, and so be the oldest - although that could be very wrong. The newest would, I think, be Beinn a'Chroin, above Balquhidder Glen - as the currently-recognised summit (the West top) was fairly recently promoted and its East top demoted to 'Munro Top' ( http://www.hills-database.co.uk/database_notes.html#beinn_a_chroin ). If you don't like that reclassification, then the youngest would be one of the Munro Tops promoted to Munro Summit in the 1997 revision, I think.

 ScraggyGoat 01 May 2020
In reply to Heartinthe highlands

This could be out of date, From Bell and Williamson, In Trewin 2002 The Geology of Scotland.

Youngest; probably Mull.  Skye central complex has a radiometric date of 58Ma, and palynoligical dating of sediments within the Skye lavas and feeder dykes similar.

Mull radiometric dates 58-60 Ma, for the lavas, 58 for the youngest granites of the Mull Central complex, however palynoligical evidence from sediments within lavas in a lower part of the succession suggests a younger age of 55Ma. Which brings the radiometric dating into question.....hence 'probably' Mull

 Dave Hewitt 01 May 2020
In reply to skog:

> The newest would, I think, be Beinn a'Chroin, above Balquhidder Glen - as the currently-recognised summit (the West top) was fairly recently promoted and its East top demoted to 'Munro Top'

In summit-relocation terms there's also that thing with the Maoile Lunndaidh switch, which is more recent than the Chroin one but I'm not sure it's been accepted by the SMC (who ultimately decide what is and isn't a Munro). The recent tanks-on-the-SMC's-lawn tendencies by other hillbagging groups makes me glaze over somewhat these days, so I'm not sure.

But both in these terms and sort-of geologically, isn't the newest Munro the In Pinn, given that the old summit got zapped by lightning a decade or so ago, so the current topknot is pretty new to the job as it were.

russellcampbell 01 May 2020
In reply to skog:

> Of course, none of them were "Munros" at all until Sir Hugh drew up his tables. I'm not sure there's any record of how he compiled those; we might imagine that Ben Nevis could have been in there first, and so be the oldest - although that could be very wrong. The newest would, I think, be Beinn a'Chroin, above Balquhidder Glen - as the currently-recognised summit (the West top) was fairly recently promoted and its East top demoted to 'Munro Top' ( http://www.hills-database.co.uk/database_notes.html#beinn_a_chroin ).

Fine example of lateral thinking. Sorry to be pedantic but the hills database notes point out that West top is still a Munro top. The Munro is a point between the East and West tops, about 200 metres east of the West top. Mind you, haven't been there since 1988 so what do I know?

 skog 01 May 2020
In reply to russellcampbell:

Ah, yeah, I think you're right.

One of the 1997 ones then, or Dave's suggestion of the recently-refreshed In Pin!

Post edited at 21:03
 Dave Hewitt 01 May 2020
In reply to russellcampbell:

> The Munro is a point between the East and West tops, about 200 metres east of the West top. Mind you, haven't been there since 1988 so what do I know?

I seem to be there every couple of years (17 visits thus far) and the oddest thing in recent-ish times is the evolution of the new path from the An Caisteal col. This swings slightly to the right and up the west side of the West Top and appears to have largely seen off the old sneaky route up the front (which is still just about there but is now hard to spot and has become fragmentary). The newer one however is longer, and goes up via an exposed corner that might one day bring someone trouble in wet/icy conditions in descent. I'm pretty sure this path didn't exist, at least not in any significant way, 20 years ago, and it's not obviously a byproduct of the summit-switch as it's still quicker by the old way.

 ScraggyGoat 01 May 2020
In reply to Heartinthe highlands:

Want to play the same game for the Corbets....?

In reply to ScraggyGoat:

Why not? Start a new thread,! 

 ScraggyGoat 01 May 2020
In reply to Heartinthe highlands:

Yep-but tomorrow!

 Point of View 02 May 2020
In reply to Dave Hewitt:

> I seem to be there every couple of years (17 visits thus far) and the oddest thing in recent-ish times is the evolution of the new path from the An Caisteal col. This swings slightly to the right and up the west side of the West Top and appears to have largely seen off the old sneaky route up the front (which is still just about there but is now hard to spot and has become fragmentary). The newer one however is longer, and goes up via an exposed corner that might one day bring someone trouble in wet/icy conditions in descent. I'm pretty sure this path didn't exist, at least not in any significant way, 20 years ago, and it's not obviously a byproduct of the summit-switch as it's still quicker by the old way.

That explains it! I was up there last year for the first time in many years and I was wondering why I couldn't remember the tricky corner!

 veteye 08 May 2020
In reply to Dave Hewitt:

Thank you for that information. It must have changed for me then, as I have only done the peak a couple of times, both around about 1980 when I was a student in Glasgow. I feel inclined to go and have a quick munro bash around there when we are free to do so; so in a couple of weeks or so!  :-}

What a lovely and interesting thread. Thank you Heart in the Highlands.

Rob

 kwoods 08 May 2020
In reply to Heartinthe highlands:

I was on Beinn a' Chroin in January and saw that the 942m point was not the cairn but a bald projecting stone maybe 50m to the west. Not really a big deal really, though it sometimes still amazes me how accurate and discerning the OS maps can be.

Agree the new path is an odd one! Nice the way the curves around onto the south side, but no easier... 


New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...