VI. The Recent Floods in Perthshire: Their Geological Lessons

Abstract

About one o'clock on the afternoon of Wednesday, 24th August, last a thunderstorm broke over the upper part of Strathearn, which was accompanied by such a downpour of rain as had never been witnessed before even by the oldest inhabitants. The storm lasted for over three hours, and it was during that period that all the phenomena about to be described took place. The exceptional character of this flood lay in the fact that a greater body of water had come down in a given time than had ever been known before. The rain came on suddenly, and for a period of three hours was excessively heavy. Eye-witnesses have described the burns as advancing with a great front or leading wave. This seems to have been the case, and it seems probable that it accounts for the almost universal belief that a water-spout had burst high up in the mountains. The volume of water that descended the various burns was undoubtedly very great, but all the damage seems to have been done within the three hours just mentioned. During the period of the storm both the denuding and transporting powers of the streams were increased to an alarming extent. Sron Mhor is the name given to the elevated ground which rises to an altitude of 2203 feet on the north side of Loch Earn, and lies between Glen Beich and Glen Tarken. The total gathering ground of the area may be estimated at about 18 square miles. The two streams This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract