As you approach Camas nam Meann (beach of the young deer) in West Loch Tarbert from the sea, you are not prepared for its sheer scale.
The sands at the current beach level give way to cobbles.
These are difficult to walk over.
Only when you climb the hills high above the beach and look down, do you see that it is criss-crossed by mysterious straight lines. Despite what some think, these have not been made by by our ancestors, like the geoglyphic Nazca lines in Peru. Neither were they made by aliens who were unable to find suitable fields of crops on Jura.
They have been worn by countless generations of deer over the millenia since the retreat of the ice and the subsequent rise in the land. Camas nam Meann is so large that the deer choose to pick their way carefully across it rather than to walk round the easier ground behind.
Despite its size, Camas nan Meann is not the largest raised beach in West Loch Tarbert....
Interesting tracks. There are places in the Canadian arctic where caribou have created similar patterns which go for miles following migration trails. You don't see them until you fly over and then the patterns are clearly there for all to see. There are other places, as well, where the land has rebounded to create raised beaches like those in Jura. Good stuff!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful post Douglas.....once more you are an inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThanks
John
(I will visit with my boat soon!)
Thank you very much Michael and John. Michael have a good vacation!
ReplyDeleteJohn, you must!
:o)