Red rocks in the sunset.

The rock underlying the Moray coastline is formed predominantly of Old Red Sandstone and New Red Sandstone. Both were formed in arid desert conditions.

The Old Red Sandstone was laid down in the Devonian period, between 415 and 360 million years ago, when what is now Scotland lay south of the Equator, roughly at the latitude of the present Kalahari Desert. The New Red Sandstone was laid down in the Permian and Triassic periods, when Scotland was roughly at the latitude of the present Sahara Desert, about 200 to 300 million years ago.