The Inner Sound ( gd, An Lighe Rathairseach) is a

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

separating the Inner Hebridean islands of

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o 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 b ...

Raasay Raasay (; gd, Ratharsair) or the Isle of Raasay is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound. It is famous for being the birt ...

and

South Rona Rona ( gd, Rònaigh), sometimes called South Rona to distinguish it from North Rona (a small uninhabited island to the northwest of Cape Wrath), is an inhabited island in the Inner Hebrides. It lies between the Sound of Raasay and the Inner Sound ...

from the

Applecross Applecross ( gd, A' Chomraich) is a peninsula north-west of Kyle of Lochalsh in the council area of Highland, Scotland. The name Applecross is at least 1,300 years old and is ''not'' used locally to refer to the 19th century village (which ...

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

on the Scottish mainland. The Inner Sound is the location of

BUTEC The British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) is an underwater military test and evaluation range in the Inner Sound between the island of Raasay and the Applecross peninsula, on the north west coast of Scotland. BUTEC is operated ...

, a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

sensor and emissions range.

Deepest Point in the UK

The Inner Sound includes the deepest section of the UK's territorial waters, with a maximum depth of . An area, over long and up to wide, exists below a depth of , with a relatively flat bottom. There is another cleft deep, separated from the deeper bowl by an area of shallower water. A dive to examine the deeper trench found the bottom to be made up of bioturbated mud, with a steep slope towards the west of up to 60°.

Islands in the Strait

* Scalpay *

Pabay Pabay is a Scottish island just off the coast of Skye. The name Pabay is derived from an old Norse word meaning "priest's isle" and there are the remains of a 13th-century chapel. Geography Pabay is an island in the Inner Sound of Skye, lying ...

* Longay * Crowlin

Wildlife

In 2020, over a hundred eggs belonging to the critically endangered flapper skate were discovered in the strait. This led to calls for the government to protect the area from trawling and dredging. In 2021, a new Marine Protected Area in the strait for flapper skate was announced. It was Marine Scotland's second designation of an urgent Marine Protected Area using the powers contained within the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. The urgent marine conservation order came into force on 17 March 2021 and prohibits access to the area for a number of marine activities, including fishing, diving and construction, for an initial period of twelve months.

Archaeology

Between 1999 and 2004 a large scale archaeological project was undertaken in the strait, Scotland's First Settlers. This was a survey project to locate and examine sites relating to the

Mesolithic period The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymously ...

. The entire coastline of the Inner Sound together with its islands was walked by volunteers and archaeologists. In 2002, a separate project, the Sea Loch Survey was run by the same archaeologists to survey the sea lochs of Carron and Torridon. Between both projects they found 129 new archaeological sites. These sites were recorded and out them 36 sites were shovel pitted and 44 test pitted. One major excavation also took place at Sand which was a

shell midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and eco ...

dating to the early-mid seventh millennium BC.

References

Landforms of the Inner Hebrides Landforms of the Isle of Skye Ross and Cromarty Skye and Lochalsh Straits of Scotland Landforms of Highland (council area) {{Highland-geo-stub