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The Highlands
lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from
Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient
rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods which were uplifted during
the later Caledonian Orogeny. Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss in the
north west are up to 3,000 million years old and amongst the oldest found
anywhere on Earth. These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions
of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs
such as the Cairngorms and Skye Cuillins. A significant exception to the
above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstones found principally
along the Moray Firth coast. The Great Glen is a rift valley which divides
the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.
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