View of the great Columns near the Shaggs Cave on the Island of Staffa

The exaggeration or simplification of the island’s remarkable topography in some way or other is common to all the drawings executed by Banks’ men on Staffa. Designed to be easily read and to include as much information as possible, such drawings often made valuable contributions to contemporary debates concerning puzzling phenomena, such as the exact geological nature of the island of Staffa. They were intended to facilitate comparison and encourage further investigations.