Great Glen Fault
geological fault in Scotland
The Great Glen Fault is a strike-slip fault that runs through the Great Glen in Scotland. Occasional moderate tremors have been recorded over the past 150 years.
Location
Aligned northeast to southwest, the Great Glen Fault extends further southwest in a straight line through Loch Linnhe and the Firth of Lorne, and then on into northwestern Ireland, directly through Lough Swilly, Donegal Bay and Clew Bay as the Leannan Fault. To the northeast, the fault connects to the Walls Boundary Fault and the associated Melby Fault and Nestings Fault, before becoming obscured by the effects of Mesozoic rifting to the north of Shetland.
The fault continues on the North American side of the North Atlantic Ocean, but is no longer part of a contiguous fault, as the complete fault was broken when the Mid-Atlantic Ridge formed 200 million years ago. The North American side of the fault runs through the length of northwestern Newfoundland, Canada, as the Cabot Fault (Long Range Fault) and on into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is at least 300 miles (480 kilometres) long.
Geological history
The Great Glen Fault has a long movement history. It formed towards the end of the Caledonian orogeny associated with the collision between the Laurentia and Baltic tectonic plates at the end of the Silurian continuing into the Early Devonian (likely age range 430–390 Ma (million years)).
The public source identifies “Great Glen Fault” as geological fault in Scotland. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Great, Glen and Fault.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Great Glen Fault”, the useful work is to connect “geological fault in Scotland” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5599252. Authority coordinates are 57.080, -4.760. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Great Glen Fault”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Great Glen Fault primary sources, Great Glen Fault archive and Great research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Great Glen Fault”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Great Glen Fault” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.