Is it true that there could be a massive dormant or extinct Supervolcano under Loch Ness in Scotland?

The Highlands of Scotland are very ancient rocks worn away by glaciation and weathering. There were originally volcanoes in the are but they have been dormant for a huge length of time.

There were later volcanoes south of the Highland Boundary Fault which gave rise to volcanic plugs like those at Edinburgh and Stirling casles, Dumbuck, Dumgoyne. Dumglass etc.

Loch Ness lies in the Great Glen which is another fault line running from Fort William to Inverness. A line of lochs was used to frorm the Caledonian Canal which runs through the Glen.

As for a super volcano - could be, but does it matter? Insight can come from reding about he area.

http://www.scotland-calling.com/touring/great-glen...

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/uswalks/grea...

http://www.visitlochness.com/

http://www.doughoughton.com/webpage/page/page085.h...

Glad you didn't mention a monster. http://www.lochness.co.uk/

The mountains in Scotland are granite which is a volcanic rock. Edinburgh sits on an extinct volcano (Arthurs seat) - so there is a good chance that Loch Ness is on an extinct volcanic site - but not sure about a super volcano.

http://www.lochness.co.uk/exhibition/supervolc.htm...

Hmmm - read the article carefully - Professor Tom Plume ? Try googling for the chappy.

Perhaps it is a nom-de-plume, and of course a plume of magma may produce a volcanic hot-spot

Nor does searching for the EU Volcanic Research Committee produce any sensible results

And nore do any of the "facts" concerning Loch Ness bear any relationship to the truth

So, we do not really need to examine the geological improbability that the Great Glen Fault is harbouring a supervolcano, previously unknown to science.

Examination of further items on the website which the article appears are equally fanciful.

I suspect the publication date of the page will be round about the first of April

Not a chance.

Loch Ness is on the Great Glen Fault, a massive transverse fault separating two domains of precambrian rocks. The nearest volcanic rocks are on Mull, and those volcanoes have been extinct since the Atlantic ocean opened (they were part of the pre-ocean rift valley).

Very, Very Extinct - fortunately! Yes, it is true in a way, the north of Scotland is made of old volcanic flows, but they are also some of the oldest rocks in the UK.

I have never heard of it and I am from Scotland, the only thing is the loch ness monster!!!

Not extinct rather dormant and it could erupt of course the question is when?

It's on a fault line

What do you mean by Supervolcano, sounds scary!

No, it's active and it will explode during the administration of Gordon Brown.