Canisp

Canisp
Canisp seen from Conival, nine kilometres to the east.
Highest point
Elevation	847 m (2,779 ft)
Prominence	691 m (2,267 ft) Ranked 65th in British Isles
Parent peak	Ben More Assynt
Listing	Corbett, Marilyn
Naming
Translation	White Mountain (Old Norse)
Geography
Location	Assynt, Scotland
Parent range	Northwest Highlands
OS grid	NC203187
Topo map	OS Landranger 15, OS Explorer 442

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”.

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.

Canisp was formed when surrounding rocks were eroded during an episode of glaciation, while the ridge was left poking above the level of the ice sheet, as a nunatak.

Canisp stands on the lands of the Glencanisp and Drumrunie Estates, a 44,000 acre (176 km²) tract of land which was bought in 2005 for £2,900,000 by the Assynt Foundation, a group of around 900 local residents, from the Vestey family. Compared to the other Assynt hills, Canisp does not show any distinct topographic qualities. It is a fairly uncomplicated mountain with a symmetrical profile with two main ridges running northwest and southeast. Its southwestern flank has crags and scree which falls steeply into Glen Canisp, while its northeastern slopes also fall precipitously to the lochan studded moorland.