Glen Brerachan

A small glaciated valley in the Grampian Mountains, Glen Brerachan is located 6 miles (10 km) east of Killiecrankie and carries the Brerachan Water south then east to the head of Strath Ardle in Highland Perth and Kinross. There are cultivated fields in the lower valley, but much of the area represents rough grazing for sheep. Open moorland is juxtaposed with coniferous forest plantations. The flat valley floor is thought to represent a proglacial lake, with meltwater from the main glaciers occupying the Tummel and Garry valleys to the west dammed by moraines and eventually overflowing to form the current river. Considerable evidence of remnant glacial features are to be found, with prominent ridges on the north side of the valley most-likely representing recessional moraines. Other geomorphological features include kames, eskers and erratics. Kames are irregularly-shaped mounds formed from sand and gravel accumulated in depressions on the retreating glacier, while eskers are sinuous ridges deposited by streams flowing beneath the ice and erratics are large boulders carried here from elsewhere within glaciers and deposited by the retreating ice. The Brerachan Meadows is a small wildlife reserve lying next to the Brerachan Water.


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