Grampian Mountains

Grampian Mountains, mountain system, central Scotland, forming the natural division between the Lowlands and Highlands. The Grampians are a popular holiday area with wooded mountains, rivers, lakes, and plateaux. They extend through the centre of Scotland in a south-western to north-eastern direction.

At the western extremity of the mountain mass is Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Great Britain, which rises 1,343 m (4,406 ft) above sea level. The mountain appears rounded because it has no real peak, and is popular with walkers and hikers. The other chief summits are Ben Macdui (1,309 m/4,296 ft), Braeriach (1,296 m/4,252 ft), Cairn Toul (1,293 m/4,241 ft), Cairn Gorm (1,245 m/4,084 ft), Ben Lawers (1,214 m/3,984 ft), Ben More (1,171 m/3,843 ft), and Ben Alder (1,145 m/3,757 ft). Ranges within the Grampians include the Monadhliath Mountains and the Cairngorm Mountains between which lies the ski resort of Aviemore.

The principal rivers rising in the Grampian Mountains are the Findhorn, Spey, Don, Dee, South Esk, Tay, and Forth. The mountains have been affected by glaciation, and present a generally bold aspect, but in places they slope gradually, affording excellent pasturage. In the north the mountains are more rugged and difficult to cross. Among the famous passes through them are those of Aberfoyle and Killiecrankie. The Grampians contain the finest deer forests in Scotland.

The name of the mountains was derived from Mons Graupius, mentioned by the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus as the site of a battle where the Roman statesman and general Gnaeus Julius Agricola defeated the Caledonians in ad 84, although the precise mountain to which that name referred has never been identified.