Rock drilled from Great Glen Fault gives rare look into distant geological past

Geologists have been given a “one-of-a-kind” window into Scotland’s geological past as they analyse core rock drilled from the Great Glen Fault during investigations for a hydro-storage scheme.

The Great Glen Fault is the largest geological fault structure in the UK at more than 1,000km long and 40km deep, stretching from Ireland through Scotland to Norway.

Tremors and minor earthquakes are sometimes reported in the area, though rocks associated with the fault zone generally remain mostly hidden to the human eye by the waters of Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy.

Deep drill core was extracted from beneath the Great Glen as part of investigations for a proposed SSE Renewables pumped hydro storage scheme at the Coire Glas site on the shores of Loch Lochy.

Scientists from the British Ge