The Quiraing is a landform on the eastern face of Meall na Suiramach, the northernmost summit of the Trotternish escarpment on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. It takes the form of a craterous hollow surrounded by a high rampart of rock. Within the hollow is a raised plateau the size of a football field, known as the Table. Other distinctive features of the landscape are the Needle, a jagged pinnacle rising to 120 feet, and the Prison, a mass of rock resembling a medieval keep.
The Quiraing was formed when a thick layer of flood basalt spread over the peninsula and destabilized the weak sedimentary rocks below, causing a succession of landslides. The poet Alexander Smith dubbed it "a nightmare of nature".
I captured this image of the Quiraing early one morning in October, 2024. The trail to get to this spot, which is cut into the side of the mountain, was soaked with water and mud after several days of heavy rain and included multiple treacherous sections and stream crossings. Eventually, I found a spot I liked (after a staring contest with a local sheep) and waited for the sky to begin clearing before taking this shot.
