Meaning of name | Gannet Stack, from sùlaire (Scottish Gaelic for northern gannet), and Stack (originally Norse) Norse [1] |
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Location | |
OS grid reference | HX561179 |
Coordinates | 59°01′N4°31′W / 59.02°N 4.51°W |
Physical geography | |
Island group | North Atlantic |
Area | 2.9 ha (7+1⁄4 acres) |
Highest elevation | 36 m (118 ft) |
Administration | |
Council area | Orkney |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Demographics | |
Population | 0 |
References | [2] [3] [4] |
Sule Stack or Stack Skerry is an extremely remote island or stack in the North Atlantic off the north coast of Scotland. It is formed of Lewisian gneiss. [5]
Sule Stack lies 49 kilometres (26+1⁄2 nautical miles) north of the Scottish mainland, and 66 km (35+1⁄2 nmi) west of the Orkney mainland, at grid reference HX561179 . Sule Stack's sole neighbour, Sule Skerry, lies 10 km (5+1⁄2 nmi) northeast and the remote islands of Rona and Sula Sgeir lie further to the west. Sule Stack and Sule Skerry are home to thousands of gannets and as a result are listed as a special protection area; the island falls within the administrative region of the Orkney Islands.
The island (along with Skule Skerry) has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports breeding populations of several species of seabirds. [6]
Bird species nesting on the stack include: [7]
Hoy is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring 143 square kilometres (55 sq mi) – the second largest in the archipelago, after Mainland. A natural causeway, the Ayre, links the island to the smaller South Walls; the two islands are treated as one entity by the UK census. Hoy is also the name of a hamlet in the northwest of the island.
The northern gannet is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae. It is native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, breeding in Western Europe and Northeastern North America. It is the largest seabird in the northern Atlantic. The sexes are similar in appearance. The adult northern gannet has a mainly white streamlined body with a long neck, and long and slender wings. It is 87–100 cm long with a 170–180 cm (67–71 in) wingspan. The head and nape have a buff tinge that is more prominent in breeding season, and the wings are edged with dark brown-black feathers. The long, pointed bill is blue-grey, contrasting with black, bare skin around the mouth and eyes. Juveniles are mostly grey-brown, becoming increasingly white in the five years it takes them to reach maturity.
Rona is an uninhabited Scottish island in the North Atlantic. It is often referred to as North Rona to distinguish it from the island of South Rona in the Inner Hebrides. It has an area of 109 hectares and a maximum elevation of 108 metres (354 ft).
The Mainland, also known as Hrossey and Pomona, is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections.
Stronsay is an island in Orkney, Scotland. It is known as Orkney's 'Island of Bays', owing to an irregular shape with miles of coastline, with three large bays separated by two isthmuses: St Catherine's Bay to the west, the Bay of Holland to the south and Mill Bay to the east. Stronsay is 3,275 hectares in area, and 44 metres in altitude at its highest point. It has a usually resident population of 349. The main village is Whitehall, home to a heritage centre.
Wyre is one of the Orkney Islands, lying south-east of Rousay. It is 311 hectares (1.20 sq mi) and 32 metres (105 ft) at its highest point. It is one of the smallest inhabited islands in the archipelago.
North Ronaldsay is the northernmost island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. With an area of 690 hectares (2.7 sq mi), it is the fourteenth-largest. It is mentioned in the Orkneyinga saga; in modern times it is known for its historic lighthouse, migratory bird life and unusual breed of sheep.
The Out Skerries are an archipelago of islets, some inhabited, in Shetland, Scotland, and are the easternmost part of Shetland. Locally, they are usually called Da Skerries or just Skerries.
Eynhallow is a small, presently uninhabited island in Eynhallow Sound, between Rousay and the Mainland of Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is 75 hectares in area. There is an unnamed skerry about 100 metres to the north-east of the island, separated by Fint Sound. Sheep Skerry adjoins the southern end of the island.
Auskerry is a small island in eastern Orkney, Scotland. It lies in the North Sea south of Stronsay and has a lighthouse, completed in 1866.
The Calf of Eday is an uninhabited island in Orkney, Scotland, lying north east of Eday. It is known for its wildlife and its prehistoric ruins.
Sule Skerry is a remote skerry in the North Atlantic off the north coast of Scotland.
Sula Sgeir is a small, uninhabited Scottish islet in the North Atlantic, 18 kilometres west of Rona. One of the most remote islands of the British Isles, it lies approximately forty nautical miles 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.
The Islands of the Forth are a group of small islands located in the Firth of Forth and in the estuary of the River Forth on the east coast of Scotland. Most of the group lie in the open waters of the firth, between the Lothians and Fife, with the majority to the east of the city of Edinburgh. Two islands lie further west in the river estuary.
Stuley is an island lying to the east of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It lies off the section of coastline between Loch Eynort and Loch Boisdale. It is 45 hectares (0.17 sq mi) and 40 metres (131 ft) at its highest point.
59°01′26″N4°30′30″W / 59.02382°N 4.50846°W