Although bedrock reaches the surface along much of the coast, in most parts of Orkney it is covered by variable depths of regolith. Apart from covers of till and dune sand, the regolith is composed largely of weathered bedrock. Evidence of intense frost-shattering and associated cryoturbation is found at a number of sites.

Ward Hill (479 m) is noted for its landforms associated with wind activity and also displays a range of frost-related features which provide a record of slope activity and soil movements both at the present day and earlier during the Holocene. Four main types of periglacial feature were described by Goodier and Ball (1975): turf-banked terraces, wind stripes, hill dunes and composite stripe/terrace features. Deflation surfaces are also well-developed (Gordon and Sutherland, 1996).