Abstract

A. D. Stewart writes: Davison & Hambrey (1996) argue that early Stoer Group sediments were deposited under glacial conditions, mainly on the basis of the following five observations.

(1) Roches moutonnées. Those described by the authors are two gneiss ridges shown in my map (Fig. 1). The first, on the western side of the map, trends N–S. The second, on the eastern side, trends NNW. (The intervening gneiss inlier outcrops close to sea level and is not a ridge.) The two ridge axes are not parallel, nor do they agree with ice flow from the N or NE as claimed. The

‘smooth slope’ facing NNE shown in their figs 3a and 4, which is actually the long face of the eastern ridge, is shown in more detail in my Fig. 2. It is far from smooth. The ‘rougher surface to the right’ in the authors’ fig. 3a is recent.

The locality shown in the authors’ fig. 3b, for which they provide no grid reference, is actually at the northern, supposed Fig. 1. Map of the Stoer Group at Enard Bay exposed above low tide level. High water mark has been omitted. Mapping was done on 1:2500 scale by the writer. Sediment dip generally conforms to the unconformity surface. Points A and B marks the ends of the schematic section fig. 4 of Davison & Hambrey (1996). up-stream end of the western ridge (see my Fig. 1). Nevertheless, the unconformity surface is rough. The ‘smoothed surface to the right’ mentioned