Scotland's lake and rugged highlands were created by what?

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Scotland's lakes and rugged highlands were primarily created by a geological process known as glaciation. Glaciation refers to the activity of glaciers, which are massive bodies of ice that shape the landscape through erosion and deposition of sediments.

To understand how glaciation formed Scotland's lakes and highlands, one must consider the following steps:

1. Formation of Glaciers: Glaciers develop when snow accumulates in an area at a faster rate than it melts. Over thousands of years, layers of snow compress and recrystallize into ice, forming glaciers.

2. Erosion: Glaciers are powerful agents of erosion. As they move downhill due to their own weight, they scrape the underlying bedrock, grinding and plucking rocks and debris along the way. This erosive action, known as glacial abrasion, helps shape the landscape into distinct features.

3. U-shaped Valleys: As glaciers move across the land, they erode the rock beneath them, carving out U-shaped valleys. These valleys are characterized by steep sides and a wide, flat floor, giving them their distinctive shape. In Scotland, many of the Highlands' glens (valleys) were formed through this process.

4. Corries and Cirques: Glaciers also create corries and cirques, which are deep hollows or basins found on mountainsides. Corries form when ice carves out a bowl-shaped depression, while cirques are semi-circular hollows at the head of a valley. They are often associated with the formation of glacial lakes, known as tarns, when the ice melts, leaving behind a water-filled basin.

5. Moraines and Drumlins: As glaciers retreat, they leave behind deposits of rocks, sediments, and debris. These accumulations, known as moraines, form distinctive ridges in the landscape. Drumlins are elongated deposits of glacial till, often occurring in clusters, and can contribute to the rugged topography of a region.

So, Scotland's lakes, such as Loch Ness and Loch Lomond, and its rugged highlands, with their deep glens and distinct topography, were created through the processes of erosion and deposition by glaciers during past ice ages.