St Kilda, Scotland

St Kilda
Scottish Gaelic nameHiort
Pronunciation[hirˠʃt̪] ⓘ
Old Norse namePossibly Hirtir[1]
Meaning of nameUnknown, possibly Gaelic for "westland" or Norse for "stags"[1]
Village Bay
Village Bay
Location
St Kilda is located in Outer Hebrides
St Kilda
St Kilda
St Kilda shown within the Outer Hebrides
OS grid referenceNF095995
Coordinates57°48′54″N 08°35′15″W / 57.81500°N 8.58750°W / 57.81500; -8.58750
Physical geography
Island groupSt Kilda
Area3.3 square miles (8.5 km2)
Highest elevationConachair, 430 m (1,410 ft)
Administration
Council areaComhairle nan Eilean Siar
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Demographics
PopulationNo permanent population since 1930
Largest settlementAm Baile (the Village)
Lymphad
References[2][3][4][5][6]
CriteriaCultural: iii, v; Natural: vii, ix, x
Reference387
Inscription1986 (10th Session)
Extensions2004, 2005
Area24,201.4 hectares (59,803 acres)

St Kilda (Scottish Gaelic: Hiort) is a remote archipelago situated 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.[note 1] The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom; three other islands (Dùn, Soay and Boreray) were also used for grazing and seabird hunting.[7] The islands are administratively a part of the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar local authority area.[8]: 254 

The origin of the name St Kilda is a matter of conjecture. The islands' human heritage includes unique architectural features from the historic and prehistoric periods, although the earliest written records of island life date from the Late Middle Ages. The medieval village on Hirta was rebuilt in the 19th century, but illnesses brought by increased external contacts through tourism, and the upheaval of the First World War, contributed to the island's evacuation in 1930.[9] Permanent habitation on the islands possibly extends back two millennia, the population probably never exceeding 180; its peak was in the late 17th century. The population waxed and waned, eventually dropping to 36 in 1930,[10] when the remaining population was evacuated. Currently, the only year-round residents are military personnel; a variety of conservation workers, volunteers and scientists spend time there in the summer months.[4][11] The entire archipelago is owned by the National Trust for Scotland.[12]

A cleit is a stone storage hut or bothy unique to St Kilda; there are known to be 1,260 cleitean on Hirta and a further 170 on the other group islands.[13] Two different early sheep types have survived on these remote islands: the Soay, a Neolithic type, and the Boreray, an Iron Age type. The islands are a breeding ground for many important seabird species including northern gannets, Atlantic puffins, and northern fulmars. The St Kilda wren and St Kilda field mouse are endemic subspecies.[4]

It became one of Scotland's six World Heritage Sites in 1986, and is one of the few in the world to hold joint status for both its natural and cultural qualities.[14]

  1. ^ a b Maclean (1977) page 33.
  2. ^ General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003). "Statistics for Inhabited Islands" (PDF). Occasional Paper No 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  3. ^ Grid reference NF095995
  4. ^ a b c Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. pp. 314–26. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference UNEP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003) Ainmean-àite/Placenames. (pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  7. ^ Hiltner, Stephen (11 October 2021). "Agony and Ecstasy on the Scottish Archipelago of St. Kilda". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  8. ^ Steel (1988)
  9. ^ See especially Maclean (1977), Steel (1988), Fleming (2005).
  10. ^ "Stories from St Kilda". National Records of Scotland. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  11. ^ "The new residents of St Kilda archipelago" Archived 11 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. (29 August 2010). BBC News. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  12. ^ National Trust for Scotland. Guide. "St Kilda Houses". Archived from the original on 11 March 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  13. ^ St Kilda – David Quine (Colin Baxter Island Guides) 1995
  14. ^ "World Heritage: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" Archived 28 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. UNESCO. Retrieved 3 January 2007.


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