Bow Fiddle Rock

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File:Bow Fiddle Rock - geograph.org.uk - 69268.jpg

File:ViolinBowTip-pjt.jpg

Bow Fiddle Rock is a natural sea arch near Portknockie on the north-eastern coast of Scotland. It is so called because it resembles the tip of a fiddle bow.{{cite web|title=Bow Fiddle Rock, Portknockie|url=http://www.scottishgeology.com/geo/regional-geology/grampian/bow-fiddle-rock-portknockie/|website=Scottish Geology|publisher=Scottish Geodiversity Forum|accessdate=13 September 2015}}

It is composed of Quartzite, a metamorphic rock which was originally quartz sandstone. This rock is part of the Cullen Quartzite formation which is seen along the coast between Buckie and Cullen. The formation is some 2,400m thick and dates from the Neoproterozoic Era, 1,000 to 539 million years ago.{{cite web|title=Cullen Quartzite Formation|url=http://www.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=CUQU|website=British Geological Survey|publisher=Natural Environment Research Council|accessdate=13 September 2015}}

These rocks were folded when the ancient continents of Laurentia and Avalonia collided during the Caledonian orogeny. They later became exposed at the surface where sea and weather eroded the structure seen today.

The rock formation is both a tourist attraction and nesting place for sea birds including herring gulls, great black-backed gulls and lesser black-backed gulls.{{cite web|title=BOW FIDDLE ROCK - PORTKNOCKIE|url=http://www.britainexplorer.com/articles/item/287-bow-fiddle-rock|website=Britain Explorer|publisher=Curious Britannia Ltd|accessdate=13 September 2015}}

See video footage by Charles Lovelace showing Cam Cameron from Buckie's swim through the Gap in the Rock in December 2021 in aid of UK Charities.{{cite AV media |date=27 December 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMoy982x5Vc |title=Rockall sponsors bowfiddle |publisher=Cam Cameron |via=YouTube |access-date=18 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208181123/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMoy982x5Vc |archive-date=8 February 2022 |url-status=live}}