List of Murdo mountains

Murdo
Carn na Criche on the Braeriach Plateau, the highest Murdo that is not classed as a Munro
Highest point
Elevationover 3,000 ft (914 m)
Prominenceover 30 m (98 ft)
Geography
Location442 Scotland

This is a list of Murdo mountains in Scotland by height. Murdos are defined as Scottish mountains over 3,000 feet (914.4 m) in height and with a prominence over 30 metres (98 ft);[1] a mix of imperial and metric thresholds.[2]

Cartographer Alan Dawson first compiled the list of Murdos in 1995 to provide an objective and quantitative alternative to the Scottish Mountaineering Club ("SMC") definition of a Munro,[3] which has the same height threshold but a qualitative requirement of "sufficient separation", instead of prominence. The SMC does not maintain an official list of Murdos, unlike all its other Scottish mountain and hill classifications, .[4] However, all Murdos are either SMC Munros or SMC Munro Tops.[1] Dawson's threshold was in line with the 1994 International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation declaration that an "independent peak" had to have a prominence of over 30 metres (98 ft).[5]

As of October 2018, there were 442 Murdos identified in Scotland.[6] Most definitions of mountains in the British Isles consider peaks with a prominence between 30–150 metres (98–492 ft) as being "tops", and not mountains. A total of 203 of the 442 Murdos exceed this 150 metres (492 ft) prominence threshold, and thus are Marilyns.[6] Of these, 54 exceed the P600 prominence threshold of 600 metres (1,969 ft) to be a "major" mountain.[6]

When Dawson created the Murdos in 1995 he said "all Munros are Murdos", and listed Maoile Lunndaidh, a Munro, with a prominence of 400 metres (1,312 ft).[2] Surveys in 2014 showed Maoile Lunndaidh was lower than Creag Toll a' Choin,[7] and its prominence was 11 metres (36 ft); databases of Murdos (e.g. the DoBIH), no longer list Maoile Lunndaidh as a Murdo (its prominence went to Creag Toll a' Choin), and thus not all Munros are Murdos.[8][a]

  1. ^ a b "Murdos". Database of British and Irish Hills. 3 August 2018. Murdos: Scottish hills at least 3000 feet in height with a drop of at least 30 metres on all sides. All Murdos are Munros or Munro Tops but some Munro Tops fail to qualify as Murdos. The list now has "historic" status.
  2. ^ a b Alan Dawson (June 1995). "Murdos". The Relative Hills of Britain (rhb.org.uk). A Murdo is a Scottish peak over 914.4 metres high (3000 feet) with a drop of at least 30 metres (98 feet) all round. The 444 Murdos comprise all 277 Munros, 160 of the most significant Munro Tops and seven additional summits. The list of Murdos shows the drop from each summit and so makes it easy for hillwalkers to collect the most rewarding 3000–foot summits without having to bother with the less significant tops.
  3. ^ Alan Dawson (1995). The Murdos (TACit Tables). TACit Press. ISBN 978-0952268031.
  4. ^ "Munros". Scottish Mountaineering Club. 2018.
  5. ^ "MOUNTAIN CLASSIFICATION". UIAA. March 1994.
  6. ^ a b c Chris Cocker; Graham Jackson (2018). "The Murdos". Database of British and Irish Hills.
  7. ^ Alan Dawson. "Surveying Report 2014". The Relative Hills of Britain (rhb.org.uk). Creag Toll a'Choin was never officially a twin but turned out to be 0.35m higher than Maoile Lunndaidh. This was a surprise, as some OS maps show Maoile Lunndaidh to be 2m higher, so a second survey was carried out to confirm the finding.
  8. ^ "Maoile Lunndaidh". HillBaggingUK. 2018. Prominence 10.5m Class Munro
  9. ^ Steve Fallon (2018). "Munros". SteveFallonMunroAdventures. In addition to Munros, there are also Munro Tops and Murdos. Munro Tops are summits that are over 3,000ft, but considered to be a subsidiary top of a nearby Munro. There are currently 227 Munro Tops. Murdos are Scottish hills over 3,000ft with a minimum drop of 30 metres on all sides – all Munros are Murdos, but not all Munro Tops are Murdos. There are 442 Murdos.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).