peeblesshire-1967-vol-1/03_038

Transcription

INTRODUCTION: GENERAL

block of more open country - Leadburn Moor and the belt of easy slopes at the base of the
Pentland Hills. The north-west corner of the county then extends to the spine of the Pent-
lands, attaining its greatest elevation on West Cairn Hill (1844ft.). Upstream from the inflow
of the Lyne Water, hills once more hem in the main Tweed valley as far as Drumelzier, where
lower-lying, rolling ground spreads out around the mouths of Holms Water, Biggar Water, and
the Kilbucho and Broughton Burns. Above Drumelzier, which lies at about 650 ft. O.D., the
main valley turns southwards and gradually becomes higher and narrower among lofty, steep-
sided hills, reaching the 1000 ft. contour in about 11 miles. The pass into Dumfriesshire lies at
1334 ft. O.D., 3 1/2 miles further south. In this uppermost section the river is largely fed by
right-bank tributaries which rise in the very high ground of the Yarrow and Moffat Water
watersheds. Of these the Talla Water provides a pass into Selkirkshire, on Fans Law, at 1483
ft. O.D.
The geological basis of much of Peeblesshire comprises Ordovician and Silurian rocks, the
former appearing in a wide belt which runs from south-west to north-east along the line of the
Broughton, Cloich and Moorfoot hills, and the latter, which are continuous with the Silurian
formations of Selkirkshire, extending over the whole of the rest of the area to south and south-
east. Lithologically these Ordovician and Silurian formations differ little, as greywacke and
shale greatly predominate in both. The north-western portion of the county, however, shows
entirely different features, as the great fault that marks the edge of the Midland Depression
traverses it approximately on the line of the Leadburn-Skirling road, and the rocks to the north-
west of this belong to the Old Red Sandstone and Lower Carboniferous formations - apart,
that is, from the core of the Pentland Hills which is of Upper Silurian age. As in Selkirkshire
the overlying boulder-clays determine the quality of the soils; and as these clays are locally
derived, the soils of the area north-west of the fault are probably less acid than the rest.
Terrace formations resulting from riverine and glacial action may be seen here and there along
the Tweed and its larger tributaries; these must not be confused with cultivation terraces
produced by human agency (infra, pp. 36ff.).
Virtually the whole of the ground above the 1000ft. contour is classed on the maps of the
Land Utilization Survey as "heath, moorland and rough pasture", while in many places land
of this quality descends as low as 850 ft. O.D. Blocks and strips of "arable land and rotation
grass" mixed with "meadowland and permanent grass" are found below these elevations in the
main valley of the Tweed from Innerleithen past Peebles and Stobo to Drumelzier; in the
valleys of the Eddleston, Lyne, Tarth and Quair Waters and on the lower reaches of the
Manor Water; in the open or rolling country between the Cloich and Pentla+nd Hills; and
round about Kirkurd, Skirling and Broughton. A narrow strip of grassland is indicated along
the haughs of the upper Tweed.
Climatic conditions may be judged from the figures for rainfall and temperature supplied
by the Meteorological Office, Edinburgh. At the low-lying station at Kingsmeadows (525 ft.
O.D.) the mean annual rainfall is 33·3 in., ¹ the driest month being June with 2·03 in. and the
wettest January with 3·63 in.; while at the high-lying station at Gameshope Loch (1900 ft.

1 The figures for rainfall are calculated on the basis of the long-term 35 year average, and those for temperature on the basis of the
long-term 30 year average.

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valrsl- Moderator, Kirk Beadle

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