The district described in this geological memoir (1:50 000 geological sheet 56W together with adjacent parts of sheets 55E, 65W and 64E) stretches from the rolling rich agricultural land around Blairgowrie to the mountainous upper parts of Isla, Shee and Fearnach glens. It straddles the Highland Boundary Fault Zone, forming the regional boundary between the late Proterozoic Dalradian Supergroup of the Grampian Highlands and the Palaeozoic rocks of the Scottish Midland Valley.

This 4th edition of The Geology of Scotland is greatly expanded from the previous edition with 34 authors contributing to 20 chapters. A new format has been adopted to provide a different perspective on the geology of Scotland. A brief introduction is followed by a chapter outlining some of the important historical aspects that in the 19th century placed Scottish geologists in the forefront of a new science. Scotland is constructed from a number of terranes that finally combined in roughly their present positions prior to about 410 million years ago. Thus the geology of each terrane is described up the time of amalgamation, providing chapters on the Southern Uplands, Midland Valley, Highlands, Grampian and Hebridean terranes. At the end of this section, a brief synthesis summarizes the events that resulted in the amalgamation of the various terranes into the present configuration. Traditional practice is followed in the description of the Old Red Sandstone, Carboniferous, Permo-Trias, Jurassic, Cretaceous, tertiary and Quaternary strata. A separate chapter covers Tertiary igneous rocks. An attempt is made to tell the story of the geological evolution of Scotland, rather than catalogue all areas and formations. Priority is given to the onshore geology, encouraging the reader to go into the field and visit some of the world-class geology on show in Scotland. The chapters are broadly-based, attempting to integrate the sedimentary and igneous histories, and summarize changes in palaeogeography and palaeoenvironments. Economic aspects are covered with chapters on Metalliferous Minerals, Bulk Resources, Coal and Hydrocarbons. A new departure is the chapter on aspects of Environmental Geology and sustainability. Additionally, this publication contains a colour section of 32 plates, illustrating aspects of Scottish Geology, as well as a coloured geological map of Scotland.

This memoir describes the bedrock geology of the mountainous country lying between upper Deeside and upper Glen Clova in north-east Scotland (1:50,000 geological sheet 65E (Scotland)). The greater part of the Balmoral estate lies in this district, and the large granite/diorite mass of Lochnagar dominates the country, which is popular with climbers and walkers and immortalised in verse by Lord Byron.

The remote mountain loch of Lochnagar is one of the most studied freshwater bodies in Europe. This book brings together knowledge gained over two decades of multi-disciplinary scientific study, with the results of lake sediment research covering millennia, to show how the loch has developed both naturally and as a result of human impact. Particular emphasis is placed on how this fragile ecosystem, and others like it, may be affected by future climate change.

The Cairngorms area is arguably the most significant for nature conservation in the British Isles and contains its largest National Park. In this book, 35 authors, drawing on published and unpublished sources, present an up-to-date review of the area's natural features, including plants, animals, habitats, geology and landforms. The review falls into three parts. The first and largest part describes the area's rich diversity of nature, with each chapter summarising recent research findings, trends and conservation issues for a different landform, habitat or species group. The second part considers deer management, recreation and projected climate change impacts. Part three focuses on rare and threatened species, and identifies areas and habitats rich in species for which the Cairngorms are nationally and internationally important.