Glen Roy, Scotland
The landscape around Glen Roy, Scotland © David Leff
Darwin studied the unique geology of Glen Roy when he returned from the Beagle voyage.
Parallel roads of Glen Roy
In 1838 Darwin made observations on the parallel roads of Glen Roy, and of other parts of Lochaber in Scotland, with an attempt to prove that they were of marine origin. He published his paper but later wrote, 'I do believe every word in my Glen Roy paper is false'.
It is now known that the famous geological feature is the remains of ancient shorelines. They formed at the end of the last ice age when an advancing glacier pushed up the water level of a lake that filled the valley.
Toolbox
The Museum's smallest members of staff are our flesh-eating beetles, Dermestes maculates, who strip carcasses to the bone.