Fault and lineament patterns in the southern highlands of Scotland

Abstract

This paper discusses the mapped faults and photolineaments (observed on Landsat images) in part of the Scottish Caledonides. The prominent NNE-SSW to NE-SW trending wrench faults, including the Great Glen Fault, were active in the Upper Palaeozoic. In addition, recent studies have suggested Mesozoic/Tertiary activity along the Great Glen Fault. The Highland Boundary Fault, which forms the southeastern margin of the metamorphic Caledonides was an active reverse fault in Devonian times, and later transcurrent movements along it have been postulated. Another conspicuous fault set trends NW-SE; some of these faults were active in Mesozoic/Tertiary times. A minority of the faults trend roughly N-S or E-W. A map of lineaments from Landsat images has been constructed. The lineament pattern is shown to correspond closely to the fault pattern. Although by no means all mapped faults were observed on the satellite imagery, it is considered that some previously undescribed fractures and extensions to known faults were detected.