Lammermuir Hills: Difference between revisions

It could be that the name literally means 'lambs' moor'.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.scotways.com/scotways_assets/files/045_lammermuirs_map.pdf |title=Downloads – ScotWays}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://answers.encyclopedia.com/question/does-name-lammermuir-hills-originate-761340.html |title=Does name Lammermuir Hills originate 761340 |accessdateaccess-date=2010-05-08 |url-status=dead |archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724061443/http://answers.encyclopedia.com/question/does-name-lammermuir-hills-originate-761340.html |archivedatearchive-date=2011-07-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Scottish place-names |author1=William Cook Mackenzie |publisher=K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd. |year=1931 |page=216 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Scottish hill and mountain names: the origin and meaning of the names of Scotland's hills and mountains |author=Peter Drummond |publisher=Scottish Mountaineering Trust |page=62 }}</ref> and is derived from the [[Old English]] words {{lang|ang|lambra}} and {{lang|ang|mor}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.edubuzz.org/placestoseeeastlothian/landmarks/lammermuir-hills/ |title=Lammermuir Hills |work=Places to See – East Lothian}}</ref> It could also be the case that the name is [[Scottish Gaelic|Gaelic]],<ref name="pns">{{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=James B |title=Place-names of Scotland |date=1892 |publisher=D Douglas |location=Edinburgh, Scotland |page=162 |url=https://archive.org/stream/placenamesofscot00johnuoft/placenamesofscot00johnuoft_djvu.txt |accessdateaccess-date=4 February 2019}}</ref> and derived from {{lang|gd|lann barra mor}}, meaning 'level spot on the big height'.<ref name="pns" /> Early forms include ''Lombormore'',<ref name="pns" /> ''Lambremore'', ''Lambermora'' and ''Lambirmor''.

The Lammermuir Hills are formed from a succession of [[Silurian]] and [[Ordovician]] age marine sediments known as [[greywacke]]s together with [[siltstone]]s, [[shale]]s and [[mudstone]]s. They are assigned to the [[Gala Group (geology)|Gala Group]]. [[Unconformity (geology)|Unconformably]] overlying these highly [[fault (geology)|faulted]] and [[fold (geology)|folded]] strata are outcrops of the early [[Devonian]] age Great Conglomerate Formation which forms a part of the [[Reston Group]] of [[Old Red Sandstone]] rocks. These coarse red-purple [[conglomerate (geology)|conglomerates]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Great Conglomerate Formation |url=https://www.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=GCGL |website=Lexicon of Named Rock Units |publisher=British Geological Survey |accessdateaccess-date=19 June 2020}}</ref> underlie a band of country in the east between [[Longformacus]] and [[Oldhamstocks]] and also occur in an isolated outcrop east of Soutra Hill and beneath the Dun Law Wind Farm on the western margin of the hills. The same strata extend down Lauderdale on the western margin of the hills.

Glacial meltwater channels are common along the northern and eastern margins of the hills, with a notable group beneath Newlands Hill and Dod Law to the southeast of [[Gifford, East Lothian|Gifford]] and north of Deuchrie Edge and Lothian Edge, largely directed towards the northeast in these areas.<ref>{{cite web |title=Geoindex Onshore |url=https://mapapps2.bgs.ac.uk/geoindex/home.html |publisher=British Geological Survey |accessdateaccess-date=19 June 2020}}</ref>