Arkle () is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

, in the far north-west corner of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. Like its sister

Foinaven Foinaven () is a mountain in Scotland, situated in the far northwest corner of the Scottish Highlands. Like many of the monolithic mountains that surround it, the mountain is within the Moine Thrust Belt and is made up of imbricated layers of Ca ...

, the mountain is made up of glistening white

Cambrian The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

, laid down around 530 million years ago on an uneven basement of much older

Lewisian gneiss The Lewisian complex or Lewisian gneiss is a suite of Precambrian metamorphic rocks that outcrop in the northwestern part of Scotland, forming part of the Hebridean terrane and the North Atlantic Craton. These rocks are of Archaean and Paleopr ...

. The quartzite, and the

Torridonian sandstone The Torridon Group is a series of Tonian (lower Neoproterozoic) arenaceous and argillaceous sedimentary rocks, which occur extensively in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. These strata are particularly well exposed in the district of upper ...

which makes up many of the other mountains in the area, have been dissected by rivers and glaciers, leaving a series of isolated peaks, such as Suilven,

Quinag Quinag () is an 808 m high mountain range in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands, with an undulating series of peaks along its Y-shaped crest. The name Quinag is an anglicisation of the Gaelic name ''Cuinneag'', a milk pail, reflecting its ...

and

Stac Pollaidh Stac Pollaidh () is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The peak displays a rocky crest of Torridonian sandstone, with many pinnacles and steep gully, gullies. The ridge was exposed to weathering as a nunatak above the ice sheet ...

, standing above the "knock and lochan" landscape of small hills and lakes that is typical of the Lewisian gneiss. 'Ben Arkle' was the subject of a painting by Charles, Prince of Wales. This painting was reproduced by the British Post Office as one of a set of five stamps (SG 1810–1814, issued 1 March 1994) showing paintings by Prince Charles and also, as a commemorative label, in a stamp book (SG HB16) issued 14 November 1994 to celebrate the Prince's 50th birthday.

Arkle Arkle (19 April 1957 – 31 May 1970) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. A bay gelding by Archive out of Bright Cherry, Arkle was the grandson of the unbeaten Flat racehorse and prepotent sire Nearco. Arkle was bred by Mary Baker of Mal ...

, the Irish

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse, was named after the mountain.

References

Marilyns of Scotland Corbetts Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands {{Highland-geo-stub