Geology of Durness

Dolines are abundant across the dolostones / limestones of Durness and are seen as scattered depressions in the ground. These are features commonly associated with limestone caves where either the underlying limestones are dissolved to form sinks / blocked cave entrances or already existing cave passages have collapsed underneath. Lines of shakeholes are also abundant at Loch Borralie and between Durine and the craft village at Balnakeil and may show that further caves are still to be found in the Durness area. Caves longer than 3km have been found within the same rock units in Assynt and the carbonate succession at Durness is even thicker to allow such features to form. Thistles and large weeds are commonly found growing within these features, reflecting the waters than drain into these that may dissolve the underlying rocks.

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It is also worth noting that many of the caves in Britain have been found by digging out these features to find cave entrances that have simply been filled in over time. This is especially relevant to Durness as metres of glacial tills deposited during the last ice-age have filled most entrances from the exception of Smoo Cave.

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As well as Smoo Cave, smaller caves have been found within the limestones at Durness, although several larger systems undoubtedly remain undiscovered. One cave inparticular has yielded bones of several faunal species that lived in this area during the last ice-age. Here a lynx skull was found by one of the local cavers, one of only two ever found in Scotland. The only other was found inside the more famous 'Bone Caves' nearby Inchnadamph in Assynt and Exbibits from both these areas are on display in the national museum in Edinburgh.