Inner Sound, Scotland

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Inner Sound
An Lighe Rathairseach (Scottish Gaelic)
Skye landsat.jpeg
The Inner Sound lies between the thin finger of Raasay Island and the Scottish mainland to the right of centre in this Landsat view.
Scotland relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Inner Sound
Coordinates 57°25′00″N05°55′59″W / 57.41667°N 5.93306°W / 57.41667; -5.93306
Type Sound
Max. depth324 metres (1,063 ft)
FrozenNo
Islands South Rona; Raasay; Scalpay; Pabay; Longay; Crowlin.

The Inner Sound (Scottish Gaelic : An Lighe Rathairseach) is a Sound separating the Inner Hebridean islands of Skye, Raasay and South Rona from the Applecross peninsula on the Scottish mainland. [1] The Inner Sound is the location of BUTEC, a Royal Navy submarine sensor and emissions range. [2]

Contents

Deepest Point in the UK

The Inner Sound includes the deepest section of the UK's territorial waters, with a maximum depth of 324 metres (1,063 feet). [3] An area, over 1+12 mi (2.4 km) long and up to 14 mi (400 m) wide, exists below a depth of 960 ft (290 m), with a relatively flat bottom. There is another cleft 828 ft (252 m) deep, separated from the deeper bowl by an area of shallower water. [3] A dive to examine the deeper trench found the bottom to be made up of bioturbated mud, with a steep slope towards the west of up to 60°. [4]

Islands in the Strait

Wildlife

In 2020, over a hundred eggs belonging to the critically endangered flapper skate were discovered in the strait. This led to calls for the government to protect the area from trawling and dredging. [5] In 2021, a new Marine Protected Area in the strait for flapper skate was announced. It was Marine Scotland's second designation of an urgent Marine Protected Area using the powers contained within the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. The urgent marine conservation order came into force on 17 March 2021 and prohibits access to the area for a number of marine activities, including fishing, diving and construction, for an initial period of twelve months. [6]

Archaeology

Between 1999 and 2004 a large scale archaeological project was undertaken in the strait, Scotland's First Settlers. This was a survey project to locate and examine sites relating to the Mesolithic period. The entire coastline of the Inner Sound together with its islands was walked by volunteers and archaeologists. In 2002, a separate project, the Sea Loch Survey was run by the same archaeologists to survey the sea lochs of Carron and Torridon. Between both projects they found 129 new archaeological sites. These sites were recorded and out them 36 sites were shovel pitted and 44 test pitted. One major excavation also took place at Sand which was a shell midden dating to the early-mid seventh millennium BC. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raasay</span> Island in Highland, Scotland

Raasay, sometimes the Isle of Raasay, is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound. It is famous for being the birthplace of Gaelic poet Sorley MacLean, an important figure in the Scottish Renaissance.

Rona, sometimes called South Rona to distinguish it from North Rona, is an inhabited island in the Inner Hebrides. It lies between the Sound of Raasay and the Inner Sound just north of the neighbouring island of Raasay and east of the Trotternish peninsula of Skye. It has a total area of 930 hectares (3.6 sq mi) and a population of 3.

Scalpay is an inhabited island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland which has a population of 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beinn Alligin</span> Mountain in Scotland

Beinn Alligin is one of the classic mountains of the Torridon region of Scotland, lying to the north of Loch Torridon, in the Highlands. The name Beinn Alligin is from the Scottish Gaelic, meaning Jewelled Hill. The mountain has two peaks of Munro status: Tom na Gruagaich to the south, and Sgùrr Mhòr at 986 metres (3,235 ft) to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trotternish</span> Northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye in Scotland

Trotternish is the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, beginning at Portree and terminating at Rubha Hunish. The Trotternish escarpment runs almost the full length of the peninsula, some 30 kilometres, and contains such landmarks as the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing. The summit of The Storr, overlooking the Old Man, is the highest point of the peninsula. The north-eastern part of the peninsula around Quiraing is designated as a National Scenic Area and the entire escarpment is a Special Area of Conservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sand, Applecross</span> Cave and archaeological site in the United Kingdom

Sand on the Applecross Peninsula in Wester Ross, Scotland, is an archaeological site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Tay</span> Freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland

Loch Tay is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the Perth and Kinross and Stirling council areas, the largest body of fresh water in Perth and Kinross. The watershed of Loch Tay traditionally formed the historic province of Breadalbane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crowlin Islands</span>

The Crowlin Islands are a group of uninhabited islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. They lie between Skye and the Applecross peninsula on the mainland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Applecross</span> Peninsula in Scotland

Applecross is a peninsula in Wester Ross, in the Scottish Highlands. It is bounded by Loch Kishorn to the south, Loch Torridon to the north, and Glen Shieldaig to the east. On its western side is Applecross Bay and the Inner Sound. The peninsula is mountainous, sparsely populated, and linked to the mainland by two small roads. The former monastery of Applecross was established by Saint Máel Ruba in the 7th century; a sculptured stone is all that remains.

Inner Sound may refer to:

Loch Torridon is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland in the Northwest Highlands. The loch was created by glacial processes and is in total around 15 miles (25 km) long. It has two sections: Upper Loch Torridon to landward, east of Rubha na h-Airde Ghlaise, at which point it joins Loch Sheildaig; and the main western section of Loch Torridon proper. Loch a' Chracaich and Loch Beag are small inlets on the southern shores of the outer Loch, which joins the Inner Sound between the headlands of Rubha na Fearna to the south and Red Point to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross-shire</span> Historic county in Scotland

Ross-shire, or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enclaves or exclaves scattered throughout Ross-shire's territory. The mainland had a coast to the east onto the Moray Firth and a coast to the west onto the Minch. Ross-shire was named after and covered most of the ancient province of Ross, and also included the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The county town was Dingwall.

Máel Ruba is an Irish saint of the Christian Church who was active in Scotland. Originally from Bangor, County Down, Ireland, he was a monk and founded the monastic community of Applecross in Ross, one of the best attested early Christian monasteries in what is now Scotland. Forms of his name include Máelrubai, Maol Rubha (MoRubha/MaRuibhe), or Malruibhe, and it is sometimes latinised as Rufus,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Carron</span>

Loch Carron is a sea loch on the west coast of Ross and Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands, which separates the Lochalsh peninsula from the Applecross peninsula, and from the Stromeferry headland east of Loch Kishorn. It is the point at which the River Carron enters the North Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eilean Mòr, Crowlin Islands</span>

Eilean Mòr is the largest of the Crowlin Islands in the Inner Sound off the Isle of Skye, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BUTEC</span> Military range in Scotland

The British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) is an underwater military test and evaluation range in the Inner Sound between the island of Raasay and the Applecross peninsula, on the north west coast of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Alsh</span> Sea inlet of Scotland, UK

Loch Alsh is a sea inlet between the isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides and the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The name is also used to describe the surrounding country and the feudal holdings around the loch. The area is rich in history, and is increasingly popular with tourists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Skye</span> Island of the Inner Hebrides, Scotland

The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Although Sgitheanach has been suggested to describe a winged shape, no definitive agreement exists as to the name's origins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Sunart</span> Sea loch in highland, Scotland, UK

Loch Sunart is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. Loch Sunart is bounded to the north by the Sunart district of Ardnamurchan and to the south by the Morvern district. At 31 kilometres (19 mi) long, it is the longest sea loch in the Highland local government area. The maximum depth of the loch is 124 metres, east of Càrna and near the entrance to Loch Teacuis. Other islands in the loch include Oronsay, seaward of Càrna, Risga, which lies between the two larger islands, and Eilean Mòr, which lies towards the landward end of the loch in line with Beinn Resipol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rubha an Dùnain</span> Peninsula in Scotland

Rubha an Dùnain or Rubh' an Dùnain is an uninhabited peninsula to the south of the Cuillin hills on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It contains unique archaeological sites which in 2017 were designated as a historic monument of national importance by Historic Environment Scotland.

References

  1. "Inner Sound from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  2. "British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 Robinson, A. H. W. (1949). "Deep clefts in the inner sound of Raasay". Scottish Geographical Magazine. 65: 20–25. doi:10.1080/00369224908735399.
  4. Geyer, R.A. (2011). Submersibles and Their Use in Oceanography and Ocean Engineering. Elsevier. p. 263. ISBN   9780080870533.
  5. "Critically endangered skate eggs discovered in the Inner Sound". West Highland Free Press - www.whfp.com. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  6. "Safeguarding flapper skate". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  7. "Vol 31 (2009): Mesolithic and later sites around the Inner Sound, Scotland the work of the Scotland's First Settlers project 1998-2004| Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports". journals.socantscot.org. Retrieved 15 August 2021.