Sula Sgeir

Sula Sgeir
Scottish Gaelic nameSula Sgeir or Sùlaisgeir
Old Norse nameSúlasker
Meaning of nameGannet Skerry
Location
Sula Sgeir is located in Scotland
Sula Sgeir
Sula Sgeir
Sula Sgeir shown within Scotland
Coordinates59°5′44.25″N 6°9′23.37″W / 59.0956250°N 6.1564917°W / 59.0956250; -6.1564917
Physical geography
Island groupNorth Atlantic
Area15 ha[1]
Highest elevation(Near Sròn na Lice) > 70 m
Administration
Council areaComhairle nan Eilean Siar
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Demographics
Population0
Lymphad
References[2][3][4]
Sula Sgeir Lighthouse
Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar Edit this at Wikidata
Lighthouse and Cairn on Sulasgeir
Coordinates59°5′37.47″N 6°9′31.97″W / 59.0937417°N 6.1588806°W / 59.0937417; -6.1588806
Foundationconcrete base
Constructionmetal tower
Height5 m (16 ft)
Shapesquare parallelepiped with lantern
Markingswhite tower
Power sourcesolar power Edit this on Wikidata
OperatorRona and Sula Sgeir National Nature Reserve
Focal height74 m (243 ft)
Range11 nmi (20 km)[5]
CharacteristicFl W 15 s

Sula Sgeir is a small, uninhabited Scottish islet in the North Atlantic, 18 kilometres (9+12 nautical miles) west of Rona. One of the most remote islands of the British Isles, it lies approximately forty nautical miles (seventy kilometres) north of Lewis and is best known for its population of gannets. It has a narrow elongated shape running north-northeast to south-southwest, and is approximately 900 m long by typically 100 m wide (apart from a central headland projecting a further 100 m on the easterly side).[4]

A ruined stone bothy called Taigh Beannaichte (Blessed House) can be found on the east headland, Sgeir an Teampaill. A small automated lighthouse on the south end at Sròn na Lice is regularly damaged by the huge waves which break over the island during rough North Atlantic storms. Despite this, the island has diverse flora.[citation needed]

  1. ^ A figure of 1.244 km2 for the land area of Rona and Sula Sgeir is provided by Wood, L. J. (2007). MPA Global "Rona and Sula Sgeir" mpaglobal.org. Retrieved 8 September 2009. Haswell Smith (2004) p. 326 gives 109 ha for North Rona. Sula Sgeir is therefore c. 15.4 ha.
  2. ^ General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003) Scotland's Census 2001 – Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  3. ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 315
  4. ^ a b Ordnance Survey. OS Maps Online (Map). 1:25,000. Leisure.
  5. ^ "Sula Sgeir Lighthouse". World of Lighthouses. Retrieved 17 May 2016.