The Loch Ryan Fault

Abstract

Synopsis Geological evidence is presented for the presence of a major fault near the east coast of Loch Ryan, a fracture whose existence was previously suggested from geophysical studies of the region by Mansfield and Kennett (1963) and Bott (1964). The location and nature of this fault have been determined from the repetition of a distinctive stratigraphical horizon on both sides of the loch, despite the regional fold plunge, and from a shift in the line of expression of the Southern Uplands Fault. This inferred fracture, the Loch Ryan Fault, is estimated to have a west-wards downthrow of approximately 5000 ft (1525 m).