Glen Coe Coire Gabhail (corrie of the "bounty", or "hollow of capture") refers to former times when the corrie was used by members of Clan Macdonald to hide cattle and other livestock, whether their own or stolen from others. 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. Summits in the Bidean nam Bian massif include Stob Coire Sgreamhach, Stob Coire nan Lochan and Aonach Dubh (the third "sister"). By contrast the north side of the glen is a stark wall of
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