GEOLOGY OF WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE
The very name conjours up the geology and geography of the area. And the peoples who settled here.
Dun is an ancient or medieval fortified hill. The term comes from Irish dún or Scottish Gaelic dùn (meaning "fort"), and is cognate with Old Welsh din (whence Welsh dinas "city" comes).
And Barton refers to the ancient Brythonic tribes who migrated here, subsequently linking their name with that of the hill. And so we have the hillfort of the Britons. "Dun" morphed into "Dum" for the town, but remains as "Dun" for the county of Dunbartonshire - now one of two regional administrative areas West and West.
In the Early Carboniferous period, about 330-340 million years ago, there was widespread volcanic activity in the area central west of what is now Scotland, roughly west of Glasgow. Evidence of this can still be seen today in the lavas of the Kilpatrick Hills, Campsie Fells and Renfrewshire Heights. One of the volcanoes which poured out lava was at Dumbarton Rock. Today, all that remains is the basalt plug at the root of the long-extinct volcano. [Strathclyde Geoconservation Group].
GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF DUMBARTON ROCK - Strathclyde Geoconservation Group: https://geologyglasgow.org.uk/docs/017__074__publications__Final_Printers_Dumbarton_Rock_Leaflet__1329125115.pdf
