Snow patches in Scotland
Encyclopedia
Snow patch
Snow patch is a geomorphological pattern of snow and firn accumulation which lies on the surface longer time than other seasonal snow cover. There are two types to distinguish; seasonal snow patches and perennial snow patches. Seasonal patches usually melt during the late summer but later than rest...
es on Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William....
being observed well into summer and autumn. Indeed, the summit observatory, which operated from 1883 to 1904, reported that snow survived on the north-east cliffs through more years than it vanished.
More recently, additional and methodical field study on the subject has been carried out by others, most notably by ecologist Dr Adam Watson. Most of this work concentrated on the mountains of north-east Scotland (in particular, the Cairngorms
Cairngorms
The Cairngorms are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain of the same name - Cairn Gorm.-Name:...
), but more recent observations by him and others has shed light on various locations throughout Scotland where long-lying snow persists. The available information systematically gathered by observers over the last 50 years or so, and greatly increased since the 1990s, has built up a level of knowledge that points to Scotland’s snow patches being now amongst the best documented in the world.
General locations
Mountains and hills of Scotland
Scotland is the most mountainous country in the United Kingdom. The area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault is known as the Highlands, and contains the country's main mountain ranges. Scotland's mountain ranges, in a rough north to south direction are: The Highlands & Islands, The Hills...
where snow lies regularly into July, August and even September, but the two main areas where snow virtually always lies longer than anywhere else are the Cairngorms and the Lochaber mountains. These areas contain all of Scotland's mountains in excess of 4000 feet (1,219 m), including Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William....
.
Other locations where snow has been known to survive:
- 1. Creag MeagaidhCreag MeagaidhCreag Meagaidh is a mountain on the northern side of Glen Spean in Scotland. It is a complex mountain, taking the form of a flat summit plateau from which five ridges radiate, and is most famed for the cliffs surrounding the corrie of Coire Ardair on the north-eastern face...
hills, survived in 1994 - 2. Glen AffricGlen Affricright|300px|thumb|Glen AffricGlen Affric is a glen south-west of the village of Cannich in the Highland region of Scotland, some to the west of Loch Ness. The River Affric runs along its length, passing through Loch Affric and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin .It used to be part of the lands of the Clan...
/Strathfarrar hills, usually melts mid/late August but survivals noted on Sgurr na LapaichSgurr na LapaichSgurr na Lapaich is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, situated north of Loch Mullardoch in the high ground that separates Glen Cannich and Glen Strathfarrar. The mountain reaches a height of 1,150 metres , and is the fourth highest mountain north of the Great Glen...
and Toll Creagach (J Pottie and others) - 3. Ben WyvisBen WyvisBen Wyvis is a mountain located in Easter Ross, Ross and Cromarty, Highland, in northern Scotland, north-west of Dingwall. It forms an undulating ridge running roughly north-south for about 5 km, the highest summit of which is Glas Leathad Mòr...
, normally melts July/August, though survival has been noted (A Watson) - 4. Grey CorriesGrey CorriesThe Grey Corries are a range of mountains in the West Highlands of Scotland. The range includes several of Scotland's highest peaks including a number of Munros...
, normally survives until July/August (personal observation by author), has survived at least once on Stob Coire EasainStob Coire EasainStob Coire Easain is a Scottish Munro mountain which reaches a height of 1115 metres , situated 18 kilometres east of Fort William. It stands on the western side of Loch Treig, along with its "twin", the Munro Stob a' Choire Mheadhoin... - 5. Glen CoeGlen CoeGlen Coe is a glen in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the southern part of the Lochaber committee area of Highland Council, and was formerly part of the county of Argyll. It is often considered one of the most spectacular and beautiful places in Scotland, and is a part of the designated...
, late July is not unusual for final melt date, but survival of old snow until first, but not lasting, new snows in November has been noted
The Cairngorms
Cairn Gorm
Cairn Gorm is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands overlooking Strathspey and the town of Aviemore. At 1245 metres it is the sixth highest mountain in the United Kingdom...
and Braeriach
Braeriach
Braeriach is the third highest mountain in Great Britain, surpassed only by Ben Nevis and Ben Macdui. It is the highest point in the western massif of the Cairngorms, separated from the central section by the pass of the Lairig Ghru. The summit has a crescent shape, with several corries...
all contain long-lying patches that have been observed for many years.
On Ben Macdui, snow has been known to persist at a few locations from one winter to the next, but the location where more survivals have been noted than any other is , close to the Garbh Uisge Beag, which drains into Loch Avon. This patch sits at an altitude of 1060 metres (3,478 ft).
Lying at the north-eastern shoulder of Cairn Gorm
Cairn Gorm
Cairn Gorm is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands overlooking Strathspey and the town of Aviemore. At 1245 metres it is the sixth highest mountain in the United Kingdom...
is Ciste Mhairead. This hollow contains a patch which, hitherto, was known to persist through many years, but has not done so since 2000. Observations in 2007 and 2008 revealed that September was the month when final melting occurred for this patch. It sits at an altitude of 1095 metres (3,593 ft) and is located at approximately .
Braeriach's Garbh Choire Mòr is the place which contains Britain's most persistent snow beds. Snow has been absent from this corrie just 5 times in the last century: 1933, 1959, 1996, 2003 and 2006. Sitting at an altitude of about 1140 metres (3,740 ft) , these patches are located around ; the two most long-lasting patches are known as "the Pinnacles" and "the Sphinx" after the rock climbs lying above them.
In 1994, the Cairngorms and surrounding mountains of north-east Scotland had 55 surviving patches, an exceptional number.
Ben Nevis range
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William....
), Aonach Mòr
Aonach Mòr
Aonach Mòr is a mountain in the Highlands of Scotland. It is located about 2 miles/ 3 km north east of Ben Nevis on the south side of Glen Spean, near the town of Fort William...
, Aonach Beag
Aonach Beag
Aonach Beag is a mountain in the Highlands of Scotland. It is located about 3 km east of Ben Nevis on the north side of Glen Nevis, near the town of Fort William...
and Càrn Mòr Dearg
Carn Mòr Dearg
Càrn Mòr Dearg is the eighth highest mountain in Scotland. It is situated in the west of Scotland, close to the town of Fort William, in Lochaber, Highland...
make up the other three mountains in excess of 4000 feet (1,219 m) in this area.
As mentioned above, Ben Nevis has long been known to hold snow late into the year. However, historical reports from the 19th century and early 20th century of snow being ever present on the mountain are virtually impossible to substantiate, so must remain speculative. Nevertheless, what is certainly true is that snow often persists from one winter to the next. Analysis of Ben Nevis's snow is not as comprehensive as that of the Cairngorms, but recent observations show that the last time Ben Nevis was snow-free was late 2006, snow having survived into the winters of 2007–08 and 2008–09. The largest patch, at Observatory Gully, sits at an altitude of around 1130 metres (3,707 ft) . The slightly lower patch at Point 5 gully has also been known to survive from one winter to the next.
Aonach Mòr has a corrie known to hold snow from one year to the next: Coire an Lochain. One of these patches, sitting behind a protalus rampart, sometimes survives longer than the patch slightly higher up against the tall cliffs.
Below the cliffs of the north-east ridge on Aonach Beag there is a relatively little known snow-patch which, despite its low altitude (approximately 955 metres (3,133 ft) ), has been Scotland's largest at the time of the arrival of the lasting new winter snows of 2007 and 2008. This patch does not appear in known literature on the subject and this suggests that it is very much under-recorded, which may be because it cannot readily be seen, even from the top of Aonach Mòr or Aonach Beag.
See also
- CorrieCirqueCirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
- Newman's Lady-fernAthyrium flexileAthyrium flexile, commonly known as Newman's Lady-fern, is a fern endemic to Scotland.It is an upland variety typically found above 750 metres on screes made up of siliceous rocks such as quartzite and granite in the Highlands where it is found at only four sites...
– a snow-tolerant species endemic to Scotland. - Icy Rock-mossAndreaea frigidaAndreaea frigida, commonly known as Icy Rock-moss, is a moss endemic to Europe which is found in mountainous regions in Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Rumania, Poland, and Spain...
– a species found in Cairngorms National ParkCairngorms National ParkThe Cairngorms National Park is a national park in north east Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, set up in 2002. The park covers the Cairngorms range of mountains, and...
, where it's typically found on rocks in burns fed by snow patches. - Younger DryasYounger DryasThe Younger Dryas stadial, also referred to as the Big Freeze, was a geologically brief period of cold climatic conditions and drought between approximately 12.8 and 11.5 ka BP, or 12,800 and 11,500 years before present...
External links
- Current.com Video interview with Dr Adam Watson about Cairngorm snow-patches
- Scottish mountain snow melting Speculative BBC feature discussing snow-patch melt and how it may affect mosses, liverworts and birds in the Scottish hills
- Cairngorms Skiing, Feith Buidhe Exploration then ski-ing of a large remaining snow patch at the Feith Buidhe slabs, probably August 1993
- Tower Gully, Ben Nevis Video of Tower Gully being skied on 1 July 1994, showing the phenomenal accumulations of snow that year
- flickr archive Various years' images, as contributed by several people (Dr Adam Watson, Iain Cameron, www.winterhighland.info)