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 shaped by the processes of glaciation during the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. Since 2017 Glen Coe has been designated as a national nature reserve (NNR), and is classified as a Category IV protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Glen Coe is also designated as a Special Area of Conservation, and the south side of the glen falls within the "Glen Etive and Glen Fyne Special Protection Area". Habitats within Glen Coe include of birch woodland, moorland and peatbogs. In the lower areas of the glen bog myrtle, cotton grass, butterwort, sundew and bladderwort are