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Housay ( sco, Housay), also known as West Isle, is one of the three islands that form the
Housay has the most complex geology of the Out Skerries, with
Out Skerries, Shetland
Out Skerries
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.
Geography
The Out Skerries lie about northeast of ...
island group, the most easterly part of the Shetland Isles
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the ...
.
Geography and geology
Housay has the most complex geology of the Out Skerries, with granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
in Mio Ness in the far south west, limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
on the south coast, and large concentrations of gneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...
and schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...
.
The island of Housay consists of several thin headlands, with the biggest pointing to the south west, and over long. To the north, another headland extends, and then turns towards the south west, running parallel to the biggest one, and separated by West Voe.
The island is surrounded by a number of stacks including the Hevda Stacks in the north and the Stack a Mooth & Stack a Pillar in the south. There are also some sea cave
A sea cave, also known as a littoral cave, is a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as relic ...
s in the south, and Da Steig, which connects the island to Mio Ness is a collapsed one.
It is separated from Bruray by North Mouth and South Mouth.
The island occasionally suffers from water shortages. There is little peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
on the Out Skerries, so the residents have been granted rights to cut it on Whalsay
Whalsay ( sco, Whalsa; non, Hvalsey or ''Hvals-øy'', meaning 'Whale Island') is the sixth largest of the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland.
Geography
Whalsay, also known as "The Bonnie Isle", is a peat-covered island in the Shetland I ...
.
History
The large number of Norse placenames suggest that it has been inhabited since at least then, if not earlier. The island's population peaked in 1891 with nearly ninety people, now it is approximately half that. 45 people were recorded in 1991, although the population increased to 50 by 2001. At the autumn 2010, the islands of Housay and Bruray (600.00 acres) were on sale for £250,000. "The main islands are held under crofting tenure. the Crofting community have been offered the opportunity to register their interest in acquiring the property but have formally declined from doing so."Infrastructure
The post office, one of Skerries two shops, the church and the public hall are located here. The Skerries Bridge was built in 1957 to provide a fixed link from Bruray to the neighbouring and larger island of Housay.See also
*List of islands of Scotland
This is a list of islands of Scotland, the mainland of which is part of the island of Great Britain. Also included are various other related tables and lists. The definition of an offshore island used in this list is "land that is surrounded by ...
References
Islands of Shetland {{Shetland-geo-stub es:Housay