An Sgurr (Eigg)

Infobox Mountain
Name = An Sgurr
Photo = Eigg.AnSgurr.Canthusus.jpg
Caption = The Nose of Sgurr, seen from the southeast
Elevation = 393 m (1289 ft)
Location = Eigg, SCO
Prominence = 393 m
Parent peak = "none" - HP Eigg
Coordinates =
Topographic
OS "Landranger" 39
First ascent =
Easiest route =
Grid_ref_UK = NM463847
Listing = Marilyn
Translation = The (rocky) peak
Language = Gaelic
Pronunciation = æn sgʌ:r

An Sgurr is the highest hill on the Inner Hebridean island of Eigg, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It was formed around 58 million years ago; the result of one the last eruptions of a volcano, the core of which now forms the Isle of Rùm. Thick viscous pitchstone lava flowed out, filling a river valley. The lava cooled and formed column-like structures, similar to those at Giant's Causeway.

The surrounding basalt was softer than the pitchstone, and hence the valley became inverted, with the pitchstone withstanding the erosion far better than the surrounding rock. An Sgurr is thus an Inselberg. The mountain appears most strikingly in the view of the eastern end, known as the Nose of Sgurr.

The peak is most frequently climbed from the ferry terminal at Galmisdale on the southeast corner of Eigg. A rough track heads west, passing between the southern side of An Sgurr and the shoreline. About three-quarters of the way along the ridge there is a gully; a fairly easy scramble allows access to the summit ridge. The route now almost doubles back on itself, heading east to reach the summit, which is crowned by a trig point.

External links

* [http://www.isleofeigg.org/nature/geology.htm Geology of Eigg]
* Computer-generated virtual panoramas [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ISL/Eigg-Sgurr-N.gifNorth] [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ISL/Eigg-Sgurr-S.gifSouth] [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas.html Index]