Whitehills to Melrose Coast
Also within
Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Dalradian | Favourable | — | 2011-08-24 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.
Geology & landscape
Geological Feature: Rock Outcrop
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
Whitehills to Melrose Coast Whitehills and Melrose are located on the north Aberdeenshire coast, either side of Banff and Macduff. This coast is an important part of a longer coastal section (Cullen to Troup Head) that provides the longest continuous section across the strike of the Dalradian succession in Scotland. The succession extends from the top of the Grampian Group to the highest preserved beds of the Southern Highland Group and is the type section for the Argyll and Southern Highland groups of the North-east Grampian Highlands. The coast between Cullen and Troup Head also provides a near-complete structural and metamorphic transect across the Dalradian outcrop, providing important information on the formation, stratigraphy and subsequent tectonic history and metamorphism of the succession which underlies much of North-east Scotland. This coastal section has also contributed to speculation on the age of the Dalradian. The coastal section between Whitehills and Melrose contains part of the type section for the Southern Highland Group, including the top of the Whitehills Grit Formation and a significant part of the overlying Macduff Formation. The Dalradian rocks continue westwards in the Cullen to Stakeness Coast SSSI and eastwards in the Gamrie and Pennan Coast SSSI.