This memoir describes the bedrock geology of the mountainous country lying between upper Deeside and upper Glen Clova in north-east Scotland (1:50,000 geological sheet 65E (Scotland)). The greater part of the Balmoral estate lies in this district, and the large granite/diorite mass of Lochnagar dominates the country, which is popular with climbers and walkers and immortalised in verse by Lord Byron.

This memoir describes the solid geology of a mountainous area on the southern edge of the Grampian Highlands; a brief summary of the drift geology of the district is included.

The remote mountain loch of Lochnagar is one of the most studied freshwater bodies in Europe. This book brings together knowledge gained over two decades of multi-disciplinary scientific study, with the results of lake sediment research covering millennia, to show how the loch has developed both naturally and as a result of human impact. Particular emphasis is placed on how this fragile ecosystem, and others like it, may be affected by future climate change.