Editing Ben Nevis (section)

== Geology ==
Ben Nevis is all that remains of a [[Devonian]] [[volcano]] that met a cataclysmic end in the [[Carboniferous]] period around 350 million years ago. Evidence near the summit shows light-coloured [[granite]] (which had cooled in subterranean chambers several kilometres beneath the surface) lies among dark basaltic lavas (that form only on the surface). The two lying side by side is evidence the huge volcano collapsed in on itself creating an explosion comparable to [[Minoan eruption|Thera]] ([[2nd millennium BC]]) or [[Krakatoa]] (1883).<ref name=bbc>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18674655|title=How volcanoes shaped Britain's landscape|work=BBC News|date=5 July 2012}}</ref>
The mountain is now all that remains of the imploded inner dome of the volcano.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ben-nevis.com/information/geology/geology.php|title=Geology of Ben Nevis|publisher=ben-nevis.com|access-date=5 July 2012}}</ref>
Its form has been extensively shaped by [[glaciation]].<ref>{{cite journal
 |author1      = Averis, A. B. G.
 |author2      = Averis, A. M.
 |title        = A survey of the vegetation of Ben Nevis Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation, 2003–2004
 |url          = http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/commissioned_reports/F02LD01.pdf
 |year         = 2005
 |journal      = Scottish National Heritage Commissioned Report
 |volume       = 090
 |access-date   = 11 December 2006
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110716064637/http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/commissioned_reports/F02LD01.pdf
 |archive-date = 16 July 2011
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref>

Research has shown [[igneous]] rock from the Devonian period (around 400 million years ago) [[intrusion|intrudes]] into the surrounding metamorphic [[schist]]s; the intrusions take the form of a series of concentric [[ring dike]]s. The innermost of these, known as the Inner Granite, constitutes the southern bulk of the mountain above {{lang|gd|italic=no|Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe}}, and also the neighbouring ridge of {{lang|gd|italic=no|Càrn Mòr Dearg}}; {{lang|gd|italic=no|[[Meall an t-Suidhe]]}} forms part of the Outer Granite, which is redder in colour. The summit dome itself, together with the steep northern cliffs, is composed of [[andesite]] and [[basaltic]] lavas.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McKirdy|first1=Alan|last2=Gordon|first2=John|last3=Crofts|first3=Roger|year=2007|title=Land of Mountain and Flood: The Geology and Landforms of Scotland|location=Edinburgh|publisher=Birlinn|pages=114–116}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Gillen|first=Con|year=2003|title=Geology and landscapes of Scotland|location=Harpenden|publisher=Terra|page=80}}</ref>