Most of the area is underlain by pink-coloured granite, which formed around 425 million years ago by the slow cooling of rocks that had been melted by heat during the formation of a large chain of mountains.
The area around and to the south of Loch Kinord consists of an older group of rocks, known as the Dalradian series, that were laid down as layers of sand and mud on the floor of an ancient ocean around 600 million years ago.
During the formation of the mountain range around 460 million years ago, they underwent metamorphosis.
At Muir of Dinnet, this metamorphic rock, known as gneiss, is pale in colour with dark stripes.

The landscape of the Muir of Dinnet has been heavily influence by the movement and subsequent melting of ice during periods of glaciation; at times the area was covered by ice sheets up to one kilometre thick.
The climate warmed rapidly at the end of the last ice age, following which huge quantities of water were released, washing silts, sands, gravels and rocks across the landscape, leading to the formation of many discernible glacial features across the Muir of Dinnet, including kettle hole lochs, kames and eskers.
One of the most impressive features at the Muir of Dinnet is the gorge and giant pothole known as the Burn O'Vat (or simply 'the Vat'), which was carved when a meltwater river encountered an area of hard bedrock, leading to the formation of a whirlpool.
Most of the area is underlain by pink-coloured granite, which formed around 425 million years ago by the slow cooling of rocks that had been melted by heat during the formation of a large chain of mountains. The area around and to the south of Loch Kinord consists of an older group of rocks, known as the Dalradian series, that were laid down as layers of sand and mud on the floor of an ancient ocean around 600 million years ago. During the formation of the mountain range around 460 million years ago, they underwent metamorphosis. At Muir of Dinnet, this metamorphic rock, known as gneiss, is pale in colour with dark stripes.
The landscape of the Muir of Dinnet has been heavily influence by the movement and subsequent melting of ice during periods of glaciation; at times the area was covered by ice sheets up to one kilometre thick. The climate warmed rapidly at the end of the last ice age, following which huge quantities of water were released, washing silts, sands, gravels and rocks across the landscape, leading to the formation of many discernible glacial features across the Muir of Dinnet, including kettle hole lochs, kames and eskers. One of the most impressive features at the Muir of Dinnet is the gorge and giant pothole known as the Burn O'Vat (or simply 'the Vat'), which was carved when a meltwater river encountered an area of hard bedrock, leading to the formation of a whirlpool.
Muir of Dinnet