Quiraing

The Quiraing, looking north to The Prison (center) and the Meall na Suiramach (left)

The Quiraing, looking south

The Quiraing ( Scottish Gaelic Cuith-Raing ) is a geological formation on the Scottish Isle of Skye . It was created by geomorphological processes, mainly landslides , and belongs to the Inner Hebrides . Located on the Trotternish peninsula, about 20 kilometers north of the island's capital Portree , it is one of the most famous attractions on the island. The name Quiraing comes from the Old Norse Kvi Rand and means rounded fold .

The Trotternish peninsula, like most of Skye, consists of tertiary basalt rocks that formed about 60 million years ago and that lie on older, less stable sediments from the Jurassic . Approximately in the middle of the peninsula runs a clearly visible, eastward sloping edge in a north-south direction. In this area, the deeper sediments gave way to the weight of the basalt, which is up to 300 meters thick here, which led to massive landslides, the largest in the British Isles. The sliding rocks formed partly bizarre and labyrinthine rock structures on the east side of the edge of the break. The Quiraing is the area with the most extensive of these rock formations resulting from the landslides. It is located at the northern end of the demolition edge below the 543 meter high Meall na Suiramach . In this area, the largest earth movements come from about 15,000 years since the last glacial period . However, some of them are much older , as can be seen from the glacial shapes and traces. The area is still geologically in motion, which can be seen, for example, from the recurring cracks and damage in the asphalt of the road south of the Quiraing over the edge of the break.

Some of the Quiraing rock formations are known for their bizarre shapes and have been given appropriate names. The Needle are particularly well known ; an approximately 37 meter high rock needle and The Prison , a massive formation resembling a medieval fortress. The Table is a boulder that has not completely slipped off, the largely flat and grassy surface of which is about the size of a football field . It is difficult to access, so it is said that in the Middle Ages, residents of the nearby towns kept their herds there to protect them from plundering Vikings . The Quiraing can be reached via the connection road to Uig that branches off from the A855 in Staffin and is the only cross connection in the interior of the Trotternish peninsula. There is a parking lot at the top of the pass, where the road passes the demolition edge, from there footpaths lead through the rock labyrinth and above the demolition edge over the Meall na Suiramach. The Skye Trail , a long distance hiking trail from the northern tip of the island to Broadford , passes the Quiraing along the edge of the precipice.

The bizarre landscape of the Quiraing has been used as a film set several times , including in the films Breaking the Waves (1996), Der Sternwanderer (2007), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Der Medicus (2013) and Macbeth (2015) . The film King Arthur: Legend of the Sword , which was released in 2017 , also contains scenes shot on the Quiraing.