- North Berwick Law
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North Berwick Law
North Berwick Law seen from the seafront of North BerwickElevation 187 m (614 ft) Prominence c. 167 m Listing Marilyn Location Location East Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom Topo map OS Landranger 66 OS grid NT555842 North Berwick Law is a conical hill which rises incongruously from the surrounding landscape (indeed, this is the definition of the Lowland Scots word "law"). It overlooks the East Lothian town of North Berwick and stands at 613 ft (187 m) above sea level.
Geologically, the law is a volcanic plug of hard phonolitic trachyte rock of Carboniferous (Dinantian) age.[1] It has survived the scraping glaciers of the ice age. It is a crag and tail with a prominent tail extending eastwards.
The summit also bears some ancient ruins. These buildings were once used by lookouts in the Napoleonic Wars.
The famous whale's jawbone, pictured below right, collapsed in June 2005 after rotting away, and was removed by helicopter, much to the surprise of North Berwick residents. A jawbone has stood there since 1709, the last one having been there since 1933.
On 26 June 2008, a fibreglass replica whale bone, the same size as the one that was removed in 2005, was airlifted into place to give North Berwick Law back its famous landmark.[2]
Contents
See also
- Breast shaped hills
- List of mountains in Scotland
- Paps of Lothian
Gallery
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North Berwick Law, North Berwick, East Lothian
References
- ^ Read, W. A. et al. (2002) Carboniferous, page 294 in Trewin, N. H. (2002) The Geology of Scotland, 4th edition, London, The Geological Society.
- ^ Scotsman.com
External links
- Computer-generated virtual panoramas North Berwick Law
- Stuart McHardy, The Goddess in the Landscape of Scotland
Photos of/from North Berwick Law
Categories:- Scottish Site of Special Scientific Interest stubs
- Lothians geography stubs
- Marilyns of Scotland
- Hills of the Scottish Midland Valley
- Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Mid and East Lothian
- East Lothian
- Volcanic plugs of Scotland
- Visitor attractions in East Lothian
- Anthropomorphic geographic features
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