Staffin

Here in the Staffin district, we have sedimentary and igneous rocks in abundance. These sedimentary beds date back to the upper Jurassic (190 million years ago), while the best exposed of our sedimentary beds come to within the middle Jurassic (175 million years ago). Owing to the movement of the earth’s crust, the 'North Sea' - as we know it - was extremely shallow during the mid Jurassic era. There were land masses in the middle of that 'north sea, and vast offshore mud flats abounded.

During that period, 'Skye' did not exist as the island we now inhabit. It is strange to comprehend that even the dominant mountains we know so well were still many millions of years in the future. From the well documented evidence that we have gleaned from the sub-stratas over many years of research, it is clear that the locality was part of a wider expanse of sub-tropical terrain which had lush vegetation inland, and extensive lagoons and (now extinct) river estuaries. From the abundant fossil evidence, it is not difficult to surmise a multi-species of animal life - both on land and at sea. In the 1990s, at least seven species of dinosaurs have been identified within the Staffin area.

The Staffin that we know today had its foundations on a mud flat, and within the sedimentary beds on the coast of Staffin, the fossilised remains of Jurassic life are evident today.