Islands in the Sound of Barra - geograph

The Sound of Barra is a large ocean inlet or

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

situated to the north of the isle of

Barra Barra (; gd, Barraigh or ; sco, Barra) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by a short causeway. The island is na ...

and to the south of

South Uist South Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Deas, ; sco, Sooth Uist) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the ...

in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Since 2014 it has been designated as a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

(SAC). The Sound of Barra is composed of 98.91% marine and inlet areas, 1.07% mudflats and other semi-submerged areas and 0.02% sea cliffs and

islets An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

. There are ten islands in the sound, with only

Eriskay Eriskay ( gd, Èirisgeigh), from the Old Norse for "Eric's Isle", is an island and community council area of the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland with a population of 143, as of the 2011 census. It lies between South Uist and Barra and is ...

still being inhabited: *

Calvay Calvay ( gd, Calbhaigh), is a currently uninhabited island situated in the Sound of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, at . It is one of ten islands in the Sound of Barra, a Site of Community Importance for conservation. It was here that the ship ' ...

* Fiaraidh *

Flodday There are many small islands in Scotland called Flodday (Scottish Gaelic language, Scots Gaelic: Flodaigh) or similar and this list provides a guide to their location. The derivation of the name is from the Old Norse ''floti'' meaning "raft" or "fl ...

* Fuday * Fuiay * Gighay *

Hellisay Hellisay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Theiliseigh'') is a currently uninhabited island It is one of ten islands in the Sound of Barra, a Site of Community Importance for conservation in the southern Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The narrow Sound of Gighay l ...

Lingay Lingeigh or Lingay is an unpopulated islet in the Outer Hebrides. It lies towards the southern end of the archipelago, just north of Rosinish and south of Vatersay The island of Vatersay (; gd, Bhatarsaigh) is the southernmost and wester ...

Orosay Orosay ( gd, Orasaigh) is a small uninhabited tidal island in the Sound of Barra lying at the north end of Traigh Mhòr, the "big beach" on the north east coast of Barra. It is one of ten islands in the Sound of Barra, a Site of Community Impo ...

There is a ferry service across the sound from Ardmore ( gd, Aird Mhòr) on Barra to Ceann a' Ghàraidh on the island of

. In 2000 it was proposed that the Sound of Barra should become a SAC. A 12-week consultation process was undertaken by

Scottish Natural Heritage NatureScot ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and ...

(SNH) on behalf of the Scottish Government in the autumn of 2011 with two public meetings held in

Castlebay Castlebay ( gd, Bàgh a' Chaisteil) is the main village and a community council area on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The village is located on the south coast of the island, and overlooks a bay in the Atlantic Ocean domi ...

and on

as well as inviting submissions by letter and e-mail. SAC status was confirmed on 3 December 2014. The primary reasons for its status as a SAC are the benefits to

marine conservation Marine conservation, also known as ocean conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas through planned management in order to prevent the over-exploitation of these marine resources. Marine conservation is in ...

of its sandbanks and reefs with their diverse

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and including

maerl Maerl (also rhodolith) is a collective name for non-geniculate coralline red algae with a certain growth habit. Maerl grows at a rate of c. 1 mm per year. It accumulates as unattached particles and forms extensive beds in suitable sublitto ...

and other

red algae Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...

kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwat ...

communities and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

such as

barnacles A barnacle is a type of arthropod constituting the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in erosive ...

and

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,0 ...

and the presence of

harbour seals The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared sea ...

also being a qualifying feature.

References

{{coord, 57.06, -7.36, type:waterbody_region:GB_dim:10000, display=title Sounds of Scotland Marine Protected Areas of Scotland Special Areas of Conservation in Scotland Landforms of the Outer Hebrides

See also

Further reading

References