Glen Tilt - Hutton's Locality

Just north of Forest Lodge in Glen Tilt the River Tilt runs through a gorge which has great historical significance for geologists. The gorge was visited by James Hutton in 1785 (James Hutton is widely recognised as the father of the science of geology) and here he recognised that some rocks had been molten before intermingling with pre-existing rocks and solidifying to form what we now call igneous rocks.

The prevailing theory concerning the formation of the Earth's rocks at the time was 'Neptunism' which supposed that rocks were formed by precipitation. Hutton realised that some rocks had been molten and suggested the theory of 'Plutonism'.