{{Short description|Scottish rock formation}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}} [[File:Bow Fiddle Rock East.jpg|thumb|Bow Fiddle Rock]] [[File:ViolinBowTip-pjt.jpg|thumb|A violin bow tip]]

'''Bow Fiddle Rock''' is a [[Natural arch|natural sea arch]] near [[Portknockie]] on the north-eastern coast of [[Scotland]]. It is so called because it resembles the tip of a [[fiddle]] [[violin bow|bow]].<ref name=scotgeo>{{cite web|title=Bow Fiddle Rock, Portknockie|url=http://www.scottishgeology.com/geo/regional-geology/grampian/bow-fiddle-rock-portknockie/|website=Scottish Geology|publisher=Scottish Geodiversity Forum|accessdate=13 September 2015}}</ref>

It is composed of [[Quartzite]], a [[metamorphic rock]] which was originally [[quartz]] [[sandstone]].<ref name=scotgeo /> This rock is part of the Cullen Quartzite formation which is seen along the coast between [[Buckie]] and [[Cullen, Moray|Cullen]]. The formation is some 2,400m thick and dates from the [[Neoproterozoic Era]], 1,000 to 539 million years ago.<ref name=cqf>{{cite web|title=Cullen Quartzite Formation|url=http://www.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=CUQU|website=[[British Geological Survey]]|publisher=[[Natural Environment Research Council]]|accessdate=13 September 2015}}</ref>

The rocks were folded when the ancient continents of Laurentia and Avalonia collided during the [[Caledonian orogeny]]. They later became exposed at the surface where sea and weather eroded the structure seen today.<ref name=scotgeo /> The rock formation is both a tourist attraction and nesting place for sea birds including [[herring gulls]], [[great black-backed gulls]] and [[lesser black-backed gull]]s.<ref name="cb">{{cite web|title=BOW FIDDLE ROCK - PORTKNOCKIE|url=http://www.britainexplorer.com/articles/item/287-bow-fiddle-rock|website=Britain Explorer|publisher=Curious Britannia Ltd|accessdate=13 September 2015}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

{{coord|57|42|24|N|2|51|1|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=title}} [[Category:Natural arches of Scotland]] [[Category:Landforms of Moray]]

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