page_title: Cairngorms
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Cairngorms / Geography
caption_attribution_description: This sketch map of The Cairngorms created by Joe Dorward on 14FEB08 shows some of the villages, mountains, lochs, and rivers of the mountain range
context_page_description: The Cairngorms are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain of the Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national park on 1 September 2003. Although the Cairngorms give their name to, and are at the heart of, the Cairngorms National Park, they only form one part of the national park, alongside other hill ranges such as the Angus Glens and the Monadhliath, and lower areas like Strathspey.
  The Cairngorms consists of high plateaux at about 1000–1200 m above sea level, above which domed summits rise to around 1300 m. Many of the summits have tors, free-standing rock outcrops that stand on top of the boulder-strewn landscape. The edges of the plateaux are in places steep cliffs of granite and they are excellent for skiing, rock climbing and ice climbing.
  The Cairngorms form an arctic-alpine mountain environment, with tundra-like characteristics and long-lasting snow patches. This area is home to bird species such as ptarmigan, dotterel, snow bunting, curlew and red grouse, as well as mammals such as mountain hare. The plateaux also support Britain's only herd of reindeer.
context_section_description: The Cairngorms consist of three large elevated plateaux adorned with low, rounded glacial mountains, and divided by the passes of the Lairig an Laoigh and the Lairig Ghru. The range gives the sense of being a single plateau, because the passes that cut through them are not very deep: the summit of Lairig an Laoigh lies at 740 m, whilst the summit of the Lairig Ghru is at 835 metres above sea level at the Pools of Dee, where the water may be frozen over even in mid-summer. This means a walker could cross between the Cairntoul (1293 m) – Braeriach (1296 m) massif to the Ben Macdui (1309 m) – Cairn Gorm (1245 m) massif and thence onto the Beinn a' Bhùird (1196 m) – Ben Avon (1171m) massif without descending below the 740m summit of the Lairig an Laoigh. The range is drained by the Rivers Dee and Spey; and the latter's two tributaries: the Rivers Feshie and Avon.
  The approximate southern boundary of the Cairngorm range is generally reckoned to run from slightly east of Braemar, west along the Dee and Glen Geldie to the head of Glen Feshie. The western edge of the range is defined by Glen Feshie and the River Spey as far as Aviemore, with the northern boundary running roughly eastward from Aviemore through Glenmore to Glen Avon. The eastern boundary is defined by Glen Avon and the Am Bealach Dearg, thus ending slightly east of Braemar. 
  The Cairngorms feature the highest, coldest and snowiest plateaux in the British Isles and are home to five of the six highest mountains in Scotland: 
  Ben Macdhui (1309 m)
  Braeriach (1296 m)
  Cairn Toul (1293 m)
  Sgor an Lochain Uaine (1258 m)
  Cairn Gorm (1245 m)
  There are no public roads through the Cairngorms, and all the public roads in the general area either skirt the Cairngorms or stop short, providing access to them only. From the south and south-east, motorised access ends at Linn of Dee, or Allanaquoich. From the north-west, a road passes Coylumbridge, Glenmore and the Sugarbowl to end at the car park at the Cairngorm Mountain ski resort. The majority of hillwalkers access the range from these road ends.
caption: Sketch map showing villages, mountains, lochs, and rivers of The Cairngorms.
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