Schiehallion, an isolated mountain of Perthshire, on the mutual border of Fortingall and Dull parishes, 4¼ miles SE of Kinloch-Rannoch, and 11 WNW of Aberfeldy. Its altitude above sea-level is 3547 feet. It is situated at the eastern entrance of the district of Rannoch, a little detached from the long ridge of 7 miles breadth at the base, and 3000 feet or upwards in mean elevation, which divides Rannoch from the vales of Glenlyon and Fortingall; and, seen on entering the country by any approach from the Lowlands, it has a conspicuous and commanding appearance. Viewed from the NW, it seems a cone; but viewed from the S or E, it is seen to be elongated eastward and westward, to rest on a long narrow base, to rise gently at its E end, and to be steep on the W and on the S side. Its outline is, on the whole, curvilinear, and has fewer angles and breaks than that of most of the monarch-heights of the Highlands. The view from its summit promises, a priori, to be magnificent; but, when actually seen, it greatly disappoints. The valley of the Tummel is sufficiently remote to appear trifling; Loch Rannoch seems stript of its attractions, and sinks into comparative tameness; Glenlyon is shut out by the interposed mountain-range; and all else is a tumultuous sea of wild elevations, among which the eye traces few striking forms. Schiehallion is known throughout the scientific world as the scene, in 1772, of curious observations by Dr Nevil Maskelyne, astronomer-royal, to ascertain the mean density of the earth by observing the effect of the mountain on the plumbline; and it afterwards acquired additional celebrity from the visit and notices, first of Dr Playfair, and next of Dr Macculloch. The name is said to be a corruption of the Gaelic Ti-chaillinn, ` the maiden's pap.'-Ord. Sur., sh. 55, 1869.
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