Newton Point

A headland located on the eastern side of the entrance to Loch Ranza, on the north coast of Arran (North Ayrshire), Newton Point provides spectacular views over the Kilbrannan Sound to the Kintyre Peninsula. There is a notable geological unconformity here, which was famously recognised in 1787 by James Hutton (1726-97), and described in his 1795 treatise Theory of the Earth, providing evidence for his theory that the earth was enormously ancient. Carboniferous Red Sandstone lies at an angle over older Pre-Cambrian Dalradian metamorphic schists, with enough time between the two for a land-surface to be eroded, with evidence of pieces of the older material incorporated in the younger.

There is also a fine example of a raised beach running around the point, clearly delineated between bluffs on the landward and seaward side.

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