Canisp

Canisp (Scottish Gaelic: Canasp) is a mountain in the far north west of Scotland. It is situated in the parish of Assynt, in the county of Sutherland, 25 kilometres north of the town of Ullapool. Canisp reaches a height of 847 metres (2779 feet) and qualifies as a Corbett and Marilyn hill. The mountain's name translates from the Old Norse language as “White Mountain”.

Geography and Geology

Canisp is an isolated mountain that stands in the Glencanisp Forest, a large rock and water wilderness. It has a considerable topographic prominence of 691 metres (2,280 feet) making the mountain a very good viewpoint. Canisp has very little vegetation. Even on its lower slopes large areas of Gneiss (one of the oldest rocks in the world) are visible on the surface.

Canisp stands in a geologically important area. It is part of the Moine Thrust Belt and is typical of many of the Assynt hills in that it rises from a base of Lewisian Gneiss and is composed of Torridonian sandstone capped by Cambrian quartzite giving the hill a distinctive light grey crown.