Coire Gabhail by members of Clan Macdonald to hide cattle and other livestock, whether their own or stolen from others. Like other clans in the area, cattle were the mainstay of their economy, both herding and raiding: young men boastfully sang of getting cows from the Mearns. The wide flat glen is well suited for this purpose since from Glen Coe it appears to be a normal v-shaped glen approached only by a steep narrow gorge. The Macdonalds commonly had feuds with Clan Campbell. This culminated tragically in the 1692 massacre of Glencoe when Campbell soldiers turned on Macdonald clansfolk who fled
Glen Coe mountain, the Aonach Eagach ridge. The ridge is crossed at the eastern end by the Devil's Staircase, an old military road opposite Buachaille Etive Mòr. The western end terminates with the conical Pap of Glencoe ("Sgùrr na Cìche"), above Glencoe village, at the point where the glen opens out to Loch Leven. Geologically speaking, Glen Coe is the remains of an ancient supervolcano. It is considered to be one of the best examples of subsidence calderas. The eruption happened about 420 million years ago during the Silurian period, and the volcano has long since become extinct. The landscape was further