The lateglacial lakes of Glens Roy, Spean and vicinity (Lochaber district, Scottish Highlands)

This paper summarises the evidence for glacial ice advance into lower Glen Spean during the Loch Lomond Stadial which involved the blockage of westward-flowing drainage to form a series of ice-dammed lakes, the former surfaces of which are marked by prominent shorelines. Detailed mapping of glacigenic landforms and instrumental levelling of the shorelines reveals a dynamic interplay between the glacier margins and lake formation. Subsequent deglaciation led to lowering of the lake levels, at times by catastrophic drainage beneath the ice (jökulhlaup). The abandoned shorelines have been warped and dislocated in numerous places as a result of glacio-isostatic deformation, faulting and landslip activity. The pattern of retreat of the ice can be deduced from the mapped distributions of retreat moraines and the levelled altitudes of numerous kame and fluvial terrace fragments. The sequence of events outlined in this paper provides important context for understanding the evolution of the landscape of the Glen Roy area during the Loch Lomond Stadial, and a prelude to more recent studies reported in other contributions to this thematic issue.