Quinag ( gd, A’ Chuineag) is an 808 m high mountain range in
Sutherland
Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...
in the
Scottish Highlands, with an undulating series of peaks along its Y-shaped crest. The name Quinag is an
anglicisation
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
of the
Gaelic name ''Cuinneag'', a milk pail, reflecting its distinctive shape.
Geologically, Quinag is made of
Torridonian sandstone, resting on a substrate of
Lewisian gneiss. The highest peaks are capped by a thin skin of
Cambrian
The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...
quartzites with the gentle eastern slope of Spidean Coinich being a
dip slope formed along the quartzite beds. The massif is an excellent place to appreciate the relationship between these three major rock units of the NW Highland.
Ascent
Quinag boasts three separate
Corbett summits – Sàil Ghorm (Blue Heel 776 m/2,546 ft; ), Sàil Gharbh (Rough Heel 808 m/2,651 ft; ) and Spidean Coinich (Mossy Peak 764 m/2,506 ft; ). From the north and from the road crossing the
Kylesku Bridge, Quinag presents a formidable sight with its two huge buttresses of Sàil Gharbh and Sàil Ghorm dominating the skyline. It provides a backdrop to
Loch Assynt, and seen from the road coming from the village of
Lochinver, Quinag stretches as far as the eye can see. Spidean Coinich projects a broad south-east ridge which provides the usual ascent route for walkers.
The Quinag estate was purchased by the
John Muir Trust in 2005.
Quinag and Glencanisp estates share ownership of Loch Assynt.
Remnants of
ancient woodland comprising
birch,
rowan
The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus
''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...
,
hazel
The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
,
wych elm,
aspen and
oak are scattered throughout the northern side of the mountain particularly in the deep gulleys and sheltered situations near the seashore.
Quinag is mentioned in
Iain Banks's 2007 novel ''
The Steep Approach to Garbadale
''The Steep Approach to Garbadale'' is a novel by the Scottish writer Iain Banks, published in 2007. The novel had at least two working titles, ''Matter'' and ''Empire!''
Plot introduction
The book describes the Wopuld family, who made a fortun ...
'' as lying just west of the estate of that name.
See also
*
Geology of Scotland
References
{{Reflist
External links
John Muir Trust
Corbetts
Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands
Marilyns of Scotland
Landforms of Sutherland
Protected areas of Highland (council area)
Mountains and hills of Highland (council area)