Lunga, Treshnish Isles

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Lunga
Scottish Gaelic nameLunga
Old Norse namelangr-øy
Meaning of name"(long)ship island", from Norse
Isle of Lunga.jpg
Lunga viewed from across the water
Location
Argyll and Bute UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Lunga
Lunga shown within Argyll and Bute
OS grid reference NM278419
Coordinates 56°29′N6°25′W / 56.49°N 6.42°W / 56.49; -6.42
Physical geography
Island group Treshnish Isles
Area81 ha (38 sq mi)
Area rank161 [1]
Highest elevationCruachan, 103 m (338 ft)
Administration
Council area Argyll and Bute
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Demographics
Population0
Lymphad3.svg
References [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

The island of Lunga is the largest of the Treshnish Isles in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Isles are part of the Loch Na Keal National Scenic Area.

Contents

History

Lunga, which is of volcanic origin, has been described as 'a green jewel in a peacock sea'. [3] It was inhabited until the 19th century, and still bears the remains of blackhouses. The remains of the ruined village, abandoned in 1857, lie in the northeastern part of the island. [7]

Wildlife

Puffins on Lunga. Puffins, Lunga.jpg
Puffins on Lunga.
Seabirds on Harp Rock, Lunga, Treshnish Isles Harp Rock, Lunga (Chris Wood).jpg
Seabirds on Harp Rock, Lunga, Treshnish Isles

As one of the Treshnish Isles, Lunga is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation. [8] These designations reflect the importance of the island for its marine life, including the grey seals that inhabit the waters around it, and for its breeding colonies of seabirds, including storm-petrels, kittiwakes, Manx shearwaters, guillemot, puffin, European shag and razorbills. (The birds also breed on the Harp Rock, a sea stack separated from Lunga by a narrow gut.) In addition, barnacle geese winter on the island. [3]

Many rare and endangered plants are also native to Lunga, including primrose, birdsfoot trefoil, orchids, sea campion, sea thrift, sea pinks, yellow flags, tormentil and oyster plant. [3]

In summer, tourist boats visit Lunga from Ulva Ferry, Tiree, Tobermory, Iona and Ardnamurchan. The island's thousands of breeding puffins, who allow visitors to approach to within a few feet of them, are the island's main attraction.

A Puffin sitting side on to camera, on the cliff top where its nest is. Nesting Puffin on Lunga, Treshnish Isles (Side On Profile).jpg
A Puffin sitting side on to camera, on the cliff top where its nest is.

Footnotes

  1. Area and population ranks: there are c.300 islands over 20ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
  2. 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
  3. 1 2 3 4 Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN   978-1-84195-454-7.
  4. Ordnance Survey
  5. Iain Mac an Tàilleir. "Placenames" (PDF). Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
  6. "Regions of Scotland and Gaelic Names" (PDF). Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. "Overview of Lunga". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
  8. "Treshnish Isles". Wild About Lochaber. Retrieved 22 May 2020.

56°29′27″N6°25′18″W / 56.49083°N 6.42167°W / 56.49083; -6.42167


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