Great Glen

For the Leicestershire village, seeGreat Glen, Leicestershire.

TheGreat Glen(Scottish Gaelic:An Gleann Mòr[anˈklaun̪ˠˈmoːɾ]), also known asGlen Albyn(from the GaelicGleann Albainn"Glen of Scotland"[ˈklaun̪ˠˈaɫ̪apən]) orGlen More(from the GaelicGleann Mòr"Big/Great Glen" ), is agleninScotlandrunning for 62 miles (100 km) fromInvernesson the edge of theMoray Firth,in an approximately straight line toFort Williamat the head ofLoch Linnhe.It follows ageological faultknown as theGreat Glen Fault,and bisects theScottish Highlandsinto theGrampian Mountainsto the southeast and theNorthwest Highlandsto the northwest.

Great Glen Project Station M. Thistriangulation pillarwas one of around sixteen built for a special survey of the Great Glen in the 1970s.

The Great Glen Fault

The glen is a natural travelling route in theHighlandsof Scotland, which is used by both theCaledonian Canaland theA82 road,which link the city of Inverness on the northeast coast with Fort William on the west coast. TheInvergarry and Fort Augustus Railwaywas built in 1896 from the southern end of the glen to the southern end ofLoch Ness,but was never extended to Inverness. The railway closed in 1947. In 2002, theGreat Glen Waywas opened. A long-distance route for cyclists, canoeists, and walkers, it consists of a series of footpaths, forestry tracks, canal paths and occasional stretches of road linking Fort William to Inverness.

The glen's strategic importance in controlling the HighlandScottish clans,particularly around the time of theJacobite risingsof the 18th century, is recognised by the presence of the towns ofFort Williamin the south,Fort Augustusin the middle of the glen, andFort George,just to the northeast of Inverness.

Much of the glen is taken up with a series oflochs,with rivers connecting them. The Caledonian Canal also uses the lochs as part of the route, but the rivers are not navigable. From northeast to southwest, the natural water features along the Great Glen are:

• River Ness(Abhainn Nis)
• Loch Dochfour(Loch Dabhach Phuir)
• Loch Ness(Loch Nis)
• River Oich(Abhainn Omhaich)
• Loch Oich(Loch Omhaich)
• Loch Lochy(Loch Lochaidh)
• River Lochy(Abhainn Lochaidh)
• Loch Linnhe(An Linne Dhubh)

Thewatershedlies between Loch Oich and Loch Lochy. Loch Linnhe to the south of Fort William is asea lochinto which both the River Lochy and Caledonian Canal emerge. At the north end, the River Ness empties into theBeauly Firthat the point where it meets the Moray Firth.

Seismic activity

Although earthquakes in the vicinity of the Great Glen Fault tend to be minor, seismic activity is a consideration in the design of infrastructure. For example, theKessock Bridgeincludes seismic buffers.