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Staffa
Staffa (, , from the Old Norse for stave or pillar island) is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Vikings gave it this name as its columnar basalt reminded them of their houses, which were built from vertically placed tree-logs. Staffa lies about west of the Isle of Mull; its area is and the highest point is above sea level. The island came to prominence in the late 18th century after a visit by Sir Joseph Banks. He and his fellow-travellers extolled the natural beauty of the basalt columns in general and of the island's main sea cavern, which Banks renamed 'Fingal's Cave'. Their visit was followed by those of many other prominent personalities throughout the next two centuries, including Queen Victoria and Felix Mendelssohn. The latter's '' Hebrides Overture'' brought further fame to the island, which was by then uninhabited. It is now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. Geology and pre-history In prehistoric times (Pleistocene) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulva
Ulva (; ) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, off the west coast of Mull. It is separated from Mull by a narrow strait, and connected to the neighbouring island of Gometra by a bridge. Much of the island is formed from Cenozoic basalt rocks, which are formed into columns in places. Ulva has been populated since the Mesolithic period, and there are various Neolithic remains on the island. The Norse occupation of the island in the Early Middle Ages has left few tangible artefacts but did bequeath the island its name, which is probably from ''Ulvoy'', meaning "wolf island". Celtic culture was a major influence during both Pictish and Dalriadan times as well as the post-Norse period when the islands became part of modern Scotland. This long period, when Gaelic became the dominant language, was ended by the 19th-century Clearances. At its height, Ulva had a population of over 800, but by May 2019, this had declined to 5; some increase in the number of resi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fingal's Cave
Fingal's Cave is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, known for its natural acoustics. The National Trust for Scotland owns the cave as part of a national nature reserve (Scotland), national nature reserve. It became known as Fingal's Cave after the eponymous hero of an epic poem by 18th-century Scots poet-historian James Macpherson. Formation Fingal's Cave is formed entirely from hexagonally jointed basalt columns within a Paleocene lava flow and is similar in structure to both the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland and Ulva. In these locations, cooling on the upper and lower surfaces of the solidified lava resulted in contraction and Fracture (geology), fracturing, starting in a blocky tetragonal pattern and transitioning to a regular hexagonal fracture pattern with fractures perpendicular to the cooling surfaces. As cooling continued these cracks gradually extended toward the centre of the flow, forming the long hexagonal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isle Of Mull
The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-largest island in Scotland. From 2001 to 2020, the population has gradually increased: during 2020 it was estimated to be 3,000, in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census it was about 2,800, and in 2001, it was measured at 2,667 people. It has the eighth largest island population in Scotland. In the summer, these numbers are augmented by an influx of many tourists. Much of the year-round population lives in the colourful main settlement of Tobermory, Mull, Tobermory. There are two distilleries on the island: the Tobermory distillery, formerly named Ledaig, produces single malt Scotch whisky and another, opened in 2019 and located in the vicinity of Tiroran, which produces Whitetail Gin. Mull is host to numerous sports competitions, nota ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inner 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 . Skye, Isle of Mull, Mull, and Islay are the three largest, and also have the highest populations. The main commercial activities are tourism, crofting, fishing and Scotch whisky, 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 , and had a population of 18,948 in 2011. The population density is therefore about . There are various important prehistoric structures, many of which pre-date the first written references to the islands by Classical antiquity, Roman and Greek authors. In the historic period ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columnar Jointing
Columnar jointing is a geological structure where sets of intersecting closely spaced fractures, referred to as Joint (geology), joints, result in the formation of a regular array of polygonal Prism (geometry), prisms, or columns. Columnar jointing occurs in many types of igneous rocks (e.g. basalt, andesite, rhyolite), and forms as the rock cools and contracts. Columnar jointing can occur in cooling lava flows and ashflow tuffs (ignimbrites), as well as in some shallow intrusions. Columnar jointing also occurs rarely in sedimentary rocks, due to a combination of Solution_(chemistry), dissolution and Precipitation_(chemistry), reprecipitation of interstitial minerals (often quartz or cryptocrystalline silica) by hot, hydrothermal fluids and the expansion and contraction of the rock unit, both resulting from the presence of a nearby Igneous intrusion, magmatic intrusion. The columns can vary from 3 meters to a few centimeters in diameter, and can be as much as 30 meters tall. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argyll And Bute
Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020). The administrative centre for the council area is in Lochgilphead at Kilmory Castle, a 19th-century Gothic Revival building and estate. The current council leader is Councillor Jim Lynch. Argyll and Bute covers the second-largest administrative area of any Scottish council. The council area adjoins those of Highland (council area), Highland, Perth and Kinross, Stirling (council area), Stirling and West Dunbartonshire. History The County of County of Bute, Bute and the County of Argyll were two of the shires of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland. They were both "''shires''" (context; the area controlled by a sheriff principal, sheriff) in the Middle Ages. From 1890 until 1975 both counties had individual separate ele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hebrides Overture
''The Hebrides'' (; ) is a concert overture that was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830, revised in 1832, and published the next year as Mendelssohn's Op. 26. Some consider it an early tone poem. It was inspired by one of Mendelssohn's trips to the British Isles, specifically an 1829 excursion to the Scottish island of Staffa, with its basalt sea cave known as Fingal's Cave. It was reported that the composer immediately jotted down the opening theme for his composition after seeing the island. He at first called the work ''To the Lonely Island'' or ''Zur einsamen Insel'', but then settled on the present title. However, in 1834, the year after the first publication, Breitkopf & Härtel issued an edition with the name ''Fingalshöhle'' (''Fingal's Cave'') and this title stuck, causing some confusion. Fingal's cave is a spot on the Hebridan Isle of Staffa, some fifty miles off the Scottish coast. According to legend the cave is the site of what was once the royal castle of Fion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphony, symphonies, concertos, piano music, organ music and chamber music. His best-known works include the Overture#Concert overture, overture and incidental music for ''A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mendelssohn), A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (which includes his "Wedding March (Mendelssohn), Wedding March"), the ''Symphony No. 4 (Mendelssohn), Italian'' and ''Symphony No. 3 (Mendelssohn), Scottish'' Symphonies, the oratorios ''St. Paul (oratorio), St. Paul'' and ''Elijah (oratorio), Elijah'', the ''The Hebrides (overture), Hebrides'' Overture, the mature Violin Concerto (Mendelssohn), Violin Concerto, the Octet (Mendelssohn), String Octet, and the melody used in the Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". Mendelssohn's ''Songs W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage (1768–1771), visiting Brazil, Tahiti, and after 6 months in New Zealand, Australia, returning to immediate fame. He held the position of president of the Royal Society for over 41 years. He advised King George III on the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, sending botanists around the world to collect plants, he made Kew the world's leading botanical garden. He is credited for bringing 30,000 plant specimens home with him; amongst them, he was the first European to document 1,400. Banks advocated British settlement in New South Wales and the colonisation of Australia, as well as the establishment of Botany Bay as a place for the reception of convicts, and advised the British government on all Australian matters. He i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treshnish Isles
The Treshnish Isles are an archipelago of small islands and skerries, lying west of the Isle of Mull, in Scotland. They are part of the Inner Hebrides. Trips to the Treshnish Isles operate from Ulva Ferry, Tobermory, Ardnamurchan and Tiree. Geography The archipelago extends over a distance of roughly , from the island of in the south (towards ) to the north-east. The largest island in the group, Lunga, is west of Gometra, south-west of (on the Isle of Mull), south-east of Coll, and north-west of Staffa.Ordnance Survey Landranger Map (1:50 000) "Iona & West Mull". Sheet 48 Other relatively large islands in the group are , Fladda and . There are numerous small skerries, particularly north of Lunga. All the islands are of volcanic origin. History There are several possible duns on the islands of Iron Age origin. Little is known of the early history, although these prominent landmarks would have been significant waypoints for the Norse settlers during their conquest in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant's Causeway
The Giant's Causeway () is an area of approximately 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcano, volcanic fissure eruption, part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province active in the region during the Paleogene period. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about northeast of the town of Bushmills, County Antrim, Bushmills. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 and a national nature reserve (United Kingdom), national nature reserve by the Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland), Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland in 1987. In a 2005 poll of ''Radio Times'' readers, the Giant's Causeway was named the fourth-greatest Wonders of the World, natural wonder in the United Kingdom. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although some have four, five, seven, or eight sides. The tallest are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tertiary (period)
The Tertiary ( ) is an obsolete geologic period spanning 66 million to 2.6 or 1.8 million years ago. The period began with the extinction of the non- avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start of the Cenozoic Era, and extended to the beginning of the Quaternary glaciation at the end of the Pliocene Epoch. The Tertiary has not been recognised by the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) since the late 1980s, with the timespan of the Tertiary now being split in to the earlier Paleogene and the more recent Neogene periods, though the Tertiary continues to be used in some scientific publications. Historical use of the term The term Tertiary was first used by Giovanni Arduino during the mid-18th century. He classified geologic time into primitive (or primary), secondary, and tertiary periods based on observations of geology in Northern Italy. Later a fourth period, the Quaternary, was applied. In the early development of the study of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
