Shiant Isles

The Shiant Isles ( Scottish Gaelic: Na h- Eileanan Mòra or Na h- Eileanan Seunta / i ) are an uninhabited archipelago belonging to the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.

Geography

The archipelago is located about 8 kilometers southeast of the Isle of Lewis in "The Minch ", which separates the Outer Hebrides from the Scottish mainland. The Shiant Isles consist ( Scottish Gaelic: Eilean ) consists of three islands and numerous Skerries ( Sgeir ), extending from east to west over a length of about 5 kilometers and have a total area of 2.30 km ². Largest island of 1.43 km ² is Garbh Eilean (Eng. " Rough Island" ), which is connected by a narrow isthmus with Eilean Taighe to the south. East of the twin island is the third island, Eilean Mhuire.

The islands are known for their distinctive, over 100 meters high cliff coast, consisting of dolerite. The highest elevation of the Shiant Isles is the Mullach Buidhe on Garbh Eilean 160 meters above the sea.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the now uninhabited islands had eight inhabitants. The Shaint Isles are privately owned: They belonged from 1925 to 1937 the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie in 1937 and acquired by the British author, publisher and politician Nigel Nicolson, whose heirs own the islands today, but not inhabit them.

Wildlife ( fauna)

The Shiant Isles accommodate larger colonies of seabirds, including puffins at (Fratercula arctica), guillemots (Uria aalge ), kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla ) and razorbills ( Alca torda ). The island group represents one of the few Scottish habitats of the black rat (Rattus rattus ), whose population is estimated at about 3,000 and is proven to also feed on seabirds.