The Hebrides are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrides.
The Inner Hebrides is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides comprise 35 inhabited islands as well as 44 uninhabited islands with an area greater than 30 hectares. Skye, Mull, and Islay are the three largest, and also have the highest populations. The main commercial activities are tourism, crofting, fishing and whisky distilling. In modern times the Inner Hebrides have formed part of two separate local government jurisdictions, one to the north and the other to the south. Together, the islands have an area of about 4,130 km2 (1,594 sq mi), and had a population of 18,948 in 2011. The population density is therefore about 4.6 inhabitants per square kilometre.
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a more resistant layer or layers of harder rock, e.g. shales overlain by sandstones. The resistant layer acts as a caprock that forms the flat summit of a mesa. The caprock can consist of either sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone; dissected lava flows; or a deeply eroded duricrust. Unlike plateau, whose usage does not imply horizontal layers of bedrock, e.g. Tibetan Plateau, the term mesa applies exclusively to the landforms built of flat-lying strata. Instead, flat-topped plateaus are specifically known as tablelands.
The Storr is a mountain on the Trotternish peninsula of the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The hill presents a steep rocky eastern face overlooking the Sound of Raasay, contrasting with gentler grassy slopes to the west.
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.
The Ascrib Islands are a group of small uninhabited islands off the northwest coast of the Isle of Skye, in the Highland council area of Scotland. They are in Loch Snizort, between the Trotternish and Waternish peninsulas.
Fladda-chùain, or Fladaigh Chùain, is an island of the Inner Hebrides north of the Trotternish peninsula of Skye. It is the major island of the Fladda-chùain group between Skye and the Outer Hebrides.
Loch Snizort is a sea loch in the northwest of the Isle of Skye between the Waternish and Trotternish peninsulas. It is fed by the River Snizort, originating in the hills east of Bracadale. The mouth of Loch Snizort gives access to the lower Minch and contains the Ascrib Islands.
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.
Snizort is an area of the Isle of Skye comprising the head of Loch Snizort and the western coast of Trotternish up to Uig, which is the largest settlement.
The Battle of Carinish was a Scottish clan battle fought in North Uist in 1601. It was part of a year of feuding between Clan MacLeod of Dunvegan and the Clan MacDonald of Sleat, that ended with a MacDonald victory and an enforced peace.
Minginish is a peninsula on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is situated on the west coast of the island and runs from Loch Scavaig in the south, along the western coast of Skye to Loch Bracadale in the north west, to Loch Harport in the north east, and Glen Sligachan in the south east. It includes most of the peaks of the Cuillin hills including Sgurr Alasdair, the highest point on the island at 992 metres (3,255 ft). The island of Soay lies offshore across the Soay Sound, with the Small Isles further south across the Cuillin Sound.
Duirinish is a peninsula and civil parish on the island of Skye in Scotland. It is situated in the north west between Loch Dunvegan and Loch Bracadale.
Eilean Trodday is an island in The Minch just off the north coast of the Trotternish peninsula of Skye in Scotland.
South Ascrib is an island in Loch Snizort between the Waternish and Trotternish peninsulas on the northern coasts of the island of Skye in Scotland.
Radio Skye is a local radio station which broadcasts from Portree to the Isle of Skye, as well as the region of Lochalsh, Wester Ross on the Scottish mainland.
Staffin Island is an uninhabited islet off the east coast of the Trotternish peninsula of Skye in Scotland.
Sgùrr a' Mhadaidh Ruaidh is a summit in the Trotternish range of hills in the north of the Isle of Skye, Scotland. It is located about ten kilometres south-east of Uig, and 15 kilometres north of Portree, at the point where the long ridge running from north to south down the Trotternish peninsula loops suddenly eastward. It is 593 m high, and its grid reference is NG474584.
Hartaval is a hill on the Isle of Skye. It is located on the Trotternish peninsula in the north of the isle, and is the second highest peak on Trotternish ridge after The Storr.
View of the Quiraing (left) and the Prison (right)
The Prison
The entrance to the Quiraing
The Needle
The Table
