Today we visited two islands of the Inner Hebrides, Canna and Rum, which are made up of volcanic rocks in what is known as the Tertiary volcanic complex. These volcanic rocks came to the surface as the Atlantic widened during the last 30-50 million years and they display a beautiful set of volcanic characteristics including columnar jointing such as that best known on Staffa. Several of the islands, including Rum where this photograph was taken, are comprised of the remnants of concentric ring dykes, part of which can be seen in the background. These ring dyke complexes are formed when the overlying rocks collapse into the void created by the emerging lava.
Also on Rum we visited the very eccentric Kinloch Castle, a wonder of Victorian excess. The castle contains exotic collections of furniture and artifacts from around the world, brought home to Rum by the Bullough family, which owned the entire island. Fortunately the island is now owned by the Nature Conservancy.
