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All the United Kingdom Scotland Glenelg Glenelg Welcome Sign

Glenelg Welcome Sign

The sign announces the Scottish village's cosmic connections, as it's twinned with Glenelg, Mars.

Glenelg, Scotland

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Glenelg.   ssm67alba / Atlas Obscura User
Glenelg war memorial looking over to Skye.   ssm67alba / Atlas Obscura User
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Your eyes aren’t mistaking you. There really is a sign declaring Glenelg, Scotland, as twinning with Glenelg, Mars, that welcomes you as you enter the village.

The village of Glenelg is a picturesque coastal settlement in the Scottish Highlands well worth a visit. Sadly, it’s also where the Knoydart Highland Clearances began, which saw tenants forcibly removed from their homes and dispatched to the colonies for rich landlords to replace them with sheep. Due to these unfortunate Scots being displaced throughout the world, several Glenelgs have popped up throughout the solar system.

One is in Maryland, in the United States. There’s another in Australia and yet another in Canada's Northwest Territories. And, most interestingly, there’s also one on Mars.

The Canadian Glenelg has ancient rocks thought to be of a similar age to rocks found in the Gale Crater area of Mars. In 2012, NASA scientists named this martian area Glenelg to make it easier for themselves and the public to understand what they were referring to when discussing the Curiosity rover’s landing site. They also chose the name because it’s a palindrome, and the Curiosity was destined to visit the area twice.

As the various Glenelgs have their roots with the Scottish Glenelg, the Scottish community decided to have a special “twinning” ceremony to mark its ties to the martian Glenelg. Locals celebrated with a ceilidh (gathering) and had a special guest, former NASA astronaut Bonnie Dunbar whose grandparents were from Scotland, in attendance.

The Curiosity rover later came across a rock, which scientists named Jake Matijevic, after a rover engineer who passed away, on its way back to the martian Glenelg, After many analytical studies, the igneous rock was a classified as the type known as mugearite, which was named after Mugeary on the Isle of Skye, only 25 miles from Glenelg, where such rocks were first found and recorded. What a cosmic coincidence!

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Names Villages Space Exploration Mars Signs Roadside Attractions

Know Before You Go

The unique ferry can get you to Glenelg from the Isle of Skye. While in the village, check out the hauntingly beautiful war memorial looking over to Skye, a ruined Redcoat Barracks dating from 1723, and the two nearby, well preserved brochs (fortified iron age dwellings) called Dun Telve and Dun Trodden.

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ssm67alba

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Kerry Wolfe

  • Kerry Wolfe

Published

September 11, 2018

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  • https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-19976650
Glenelg Welcome Sign
Glenelg, Scotland
United Kingdom
57.213803, -5.620447
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Nearby Places

MV Glenachulish, Glenelg Skye Ferry

Isle of Skye, Scotland

miles away

Caisteal Maol

Isle of Skye, Scotland

miles away

Eilean Donan

Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Scotland

Scotland

United Kingdom

Places 734
Stories 49

Nearby Places

MV Glenachulish, Glenelg Skye Ferry

Isle of Skye, Scotland

miles away

Caisteal Maol

Isle of Skye, Scotland

miles away

Eilean Donan

Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Scotland

Scotland

United Kingdom

Places 734
Stories 49

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