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Garbh Eilean, Shiant Islands
Garbh Eilean (Scottish Gaelic ''Rough Isle'') is one of the Shiant Islands at the south end of the Minch on the west coast of Scotland. Geology In geological terms, these islands essentially represent an extension of the Trotternish peninsula of Skye. The rocks are volcanic, and at 60 Ma, very young by Hebridean standards. Dolerite columns on the north side of Garbh Eilean are over tall and about across. Similar to those at Staffa and the Giant's Causeway, they were formed by the slow cooling of volcanic rocks deep underground. Intrusion sills show a progression in their chemical compositions, from olivine-rich rocks at the base to rocks with very little or no olivine at the top. The sills are thought to have formed by crystal settling. Recent study has suggested that at least one of the sills represents a multiple intrusion. In some places the basalt is overlain by Jurassic mudstone, which weathers to form much more fertile soil than elsewhere in the Western Isles. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiant Islands
The Shiant Islands (; gd, Na h-Eileanan Mòra or ) or Shiant Isles are a privately owned island group in the Minch, east of Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. They are southeast of the Isle of Lewis.Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) ''Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland''. London. HarperCollins. Etymology The name ''Shiant'' is from the Scottish Gaelic , which means the "charmed", "holy" or "enchanted isles". The group is also known as , "the big isles". The main islands are Garbh Eilean ("rough island") and Eilean an Taighe ("house island"), which are joined by a narrow isthmus, and Eilean Mhuire ("island of the Virgin Mary") to the east. Eilean an Taighe was called ''Eilean na Cille'' ("island of the church") prior to the 19th century.Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 275-76 A 17th-century chart by John Adair and several other 18th-century charts call Garbh Eilean ''Nunaltins Isle'', Eilean Mhuire ''St Marys Isle'' and Eilean an Taighe ''St Columbs Isle''. This last name suggests tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial planet, rocky planet or natural satellite, moon. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Rapid-cooling, fine-grained basalt is chemically equivalent to slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro. The eruption of basalt lava is observed by geologists at about 20 volcanoes per year. Basalt is also an important rock type on other planetary bodies in the Solar System. For example, the bulk of the plains of volcanism on Venus, Venus, which cover ~80% of the surface, are basaltic; the lunar mare, lunar maria are plains of flood-basaltic lava flows; and basalt is a common rock on the surface of Mars. Molten basalt lava has a low viscosity due to its relatively low silica content (between 45% and 52%), resulting in rapidly moving lava flo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Razorbill
The razorbill, razor-billed auk, or lesser auk (''Alca torda'') is a colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinis impennis''). Wild populations live in the subarctic waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Razorbills are primarily black with a white underside. The male and female are identical in plumage; however, males are generally larger than females. This agile bird, which is capable of both flight and diving, has a predominantly aquatic lifestyle and only comes to land in order to breed. It is monogamous, choosing one partner for life. Females lay one egg per year. Razorbills nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed crevices. The parents spend equal amounts of time incubating, and once the chick has hatched, they take turns foraging for their young. In 1918, the razorbill was protected in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guillemot
Guillemot is the common name for several species of seabird in the Alcidae or auk family (part of the order Charadriiformes). In British use, the term comprises two genera: ''Uria'' and ''Cepphus''. In North America the ''Uria'' species are called murres and only the ''Cepphus'' species are called "guillemots". This word of French origin derives from a form of the name William, cf. french: Guillaume. The two living species of ''Uria'', together with the razorbill, dovekie, and the extinct great auk, make up the tribe Alcini. They have distinctly white bellies, thicker and longer bills than ''Cepphus'', and form very dense colonies on cliffs during the reproductive season. Guillemot eggs are large (around 11% of female weightGaston & Jones (1998)), pyriform in shape, and colourful, making them attractive targets for egg collectors. The three living species of ''Cepphus'' form a tribe of their own: Cepphini. They are smaller than the ''Uria'' species and have black bellies, ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puffin
Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil. Two species, the tufted puffin and horned puffin, are found in the North Pacific Ocean, while the Atlantic puffin is found in the North Atlantic Ocean. All puffin species have predominantly black or black and white plumage, a stocky build, and large beaks that get brightly colored during the breeding season. They shed the colorful outer parts of their bills after the breeding season, leaving a smaller and duller beak. Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique underwater. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 400 times per minute) in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean's surface. Etymology The English name "puffin" – puffed in the sense of swollen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Votive
A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally made in order to gain favor with supernatural forces. While some offerings were apparently made in anticipation of the achievement of a particular wish, in Western cultures from which documentary evidence survives it was more typical to wait until the wish has been fulfilled before making the offering, for which the more specific term ex-voto may be used. Other offerings were very likely regarded just as gifts to the deity, not linked to any particular need. In Buddhism, votive offering such as construction of stupas was a prevalent practice in Ancient India, an example of which can be observed in the ruins of the ancient Vikramshila University and other contemporary structures. Votive offerings have been described in historical Roman era ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scallop
Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families within the superfamily Pectinoidea, which also includes the thorny oysters. Scallops are a cosmopolitan family of bivalves found in all of the world's oceans, although never in fresh water. They are one of the very few groups of bivalves to be primarily "free-living", with many species capable of rapidly swimming short distances and even migrating some distance across the ocean floor. A small minority of scallop species live cemented to rocky substrates as adults, while others attach themselves to stationary or rooted objects such as seagrass at some point in their lives by means of a filament they secrete called a byssal thread. The majority of species, however, live recumbent on sandy substrates, and when they sense the presence of a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scalpay, Inner Hebrides
Scalpay (; gd, Sgalpaigh) is an inhabited island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland which has a population of 4. Geology The bedrock of Scalpay is largely the Neoproterozoic age sandstone and conglomerates of the Sithean Glac an Ime Member of the Applecross Formation and in the west, the Mullach nan Carn members of the Diabaig Formation, a unit of the Torridon Group, or informally the Torridonian sandstone. Outcrops of hornfelsed basalt of the Palaeocene age Skye Lava Group and the Palaeogene age Scalpay granite are found in the south and west of Scalpay. The Scalpay Sandstone and Pabay Shale formations found in the southeast of the island around Scalpay House are assigned to the Lias Group. The Staffin Shale and Staffin Bay formations are of late Jurassic age and found east of Rubha Aosail Sligneach at Caolas Scalpay. Quaternary deposits are represented by peat in the north, present day marine deposits and raised marine deposits along the southwestern shore and a restrict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torc
A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some had hook and ring closures and a few had mortice and tenon locking catches to close them. Many seem designed for near-permanent wear and would have been difficult to remove. Torcs are found in the Scythian, Illyrian, Thracian, Celtic, and other cultures of the European Iron Age from around the 8th century BC to the 3rd century AD. For the Iron Age Celts, the gold torc seems to have been a key object. It identifies the wearer as a person of high rank, and many of the finest works of ancient Celtic art are torcs. The Celtic torc disappears in the Migration Period, but during the Viking Age torc-style metal necklaces, now mainly in silver, came back into fashion. Torc styles of neck-ring are found as part of the jewellery styles of various other cultures and periods. Te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eilean An Taighe
:''"Eilean an Taighe", or "Eilean Taigh" is a fairly common island name'' Eilean an T(a)ighe, meaning "House Island" (lit. "Island of the House"), is one of the Shiant Islands. It is joined to Garbh Eilean by an isthmus, so they each form part of what is actually a single island. History Before the 1820s, the island was called ''Eilean na Cille'' ("church island"),Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 275-76. and there is evidence of a church, possibly dedicated to the Virgin Mary, near the site of the present cottage.Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 277-78. Eilean Mhuire, one of the other islands in the Shiants, also takes its name from Mary. In the mid-18th century, 40 people were living there, but by 1770 they had all left. In the 1820s a shepherd and his wife were resident, but, by 1842, they too had gone. From 1862 to 1901, another shepherd, Donald Campbell, and his wife and two daughters lived there. The daughters, Mòr and Catriona, were apparently very beautiful, and attracted the attenti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columba
Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. He is the patron saint of Derry. He was highly regarded by both the Gaels of Dál Riata and the Picts, and is remembered today as a Catholic saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. Columba studied under some of Ireland's most prominent church figures and founded several monasteries in the country. Around 563 AD he and his twelve companions crossed to Dunaverty near Southend, Argyll, in Kintyre before settling in Iona in Scotland, then part of the Ulster kingdom of Dál Riata, where they founded a new abbey as a base for spreading Celtic Christia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adam Nicolson
Adam Nicolson, (born 12 September 1957) is an English author who has written about history, landscape, great literature and the sea. He is also the 5th Baron Carnock, but does not use the title. He is noted for his books ''Sea Room'' (about the Shiant Isles, a group of uninhabited islands in the Hebrides); ''God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible''; ''The Mighty Dead'' (US title:''Why Homer Matters'') exploring the epic Greek poems; ''The Seabird's Cry'' about the disaster afflicting the world's seabirds; ''The Making of Poetry'' on the Romantic Revolution in England in the 1790s; and ''Life Between the Tides'', a boundary-crossing account of the tides in human and animal life. Biography Adam Nicolson is the son of writer Nigel Nicolson and his wife Philippa Tennyson-d'Eyncourt. He is the grandson of the writers Vita Sackville-West and Sir Harold Nicolson, and great-grandson of Sir Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt and Arthur Nicolson, 1st Baron Carnock. He was educ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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