Late-glacial and Holocene relative sea-level changes in Applecross, Raasay and eastern Skye

The origins of the rockshelters at Sand and An Corran are intimately related to past changes in relative sea-level that took place at the close of the last (Late Devensian) glaciation in Scotland. The relative sea-level changes that took place across the North West Highlands at this time resulted from the complex interplay of glacio-isostatic rebound consequent upon regional ice melting (deglaciation) and the influence of glacio-eustatic changes in global ocean volume linked to the melting of ice sheets worldwide. This account describes the interaction of these two key processes and describes how the raised shoreline features of Applecross, Raasay and eastern Skye were mostly formed when sea-level was lower (and not higher) than present. In the following pages, in line with the geosciences, ages are expressed in conventional, years BP alone (that is years before present, taken at 1950). Most of the dates refer to the general age ranges of natural periods, but where radiocarbon dates have been used they have not been calibrated because there are various radiocarbon plateaux which affect dates of this age thus making calibration uncertain.