The Minch ( gd, An Cuan Sgitheanach, ', ', '), also called North Minch, 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 ...

in north-west

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 ...

, separating the north-west

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

and the northern

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") 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, whic ...

from

Lewis and Harris Lewis and Harris ( gd, Leòdhas agus na Hearadh, sco, Lewis an Harris), or Lewis with Harris, is a single Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides, divided by mountains. It is the largest island in Scotland and the third largest in the British ...

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 ...

. It was known as ("Scotland's

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

/firth") in

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

. The Lower Minch (), also known as the Little Minch, is the Minch's southern extension, separating

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 ...

from the lower Outer Hebrides:

North Uist North Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Tuath; sco, North Uise) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and ...

Benbecula Benbecula (; gd, Beinn nam Fadhla or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a ...

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 ...

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 ...

etc. It opens into the

Sea of the Hebrides The Sea of the Hebrides ( gd, An Cuan Barrach, ) is a small, partly sheltered section of the North Atlantic Ocean, indirectly off the southern part of the north-west coast of Scotland. To the east are the mainland of Scotland and the northern I ...

. The Little Minch is the northern limit of the

Geography

The Minch and Lower Minch form part of the

Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland The Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland is a marine area designated by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). It consists of a number of waterbodies between the Scottish mainland, the Outer Hebrides islands, and the coast of I ...

, as defined by the

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...

. The Minch ranges from wide and is approximately long. It is believed to be the site of the biggest meteorite ever to hit the British Isles. The Lower Minch is about wide. In June 2010 Eilidh Macdonald became the first person to swim across it from

Waternish Point Waternish or Vaternish Point (Scottish Gaelic Rubha Bhatairnis) is the northwestern promontory of the Waternish Waternish or Vaternish ( gd, Bhàtairnis) is a peninsula approximately long on the island of Skye, Scotland, situated between Loch ...

on Skye to Rodel on Harris, in a time of hours.

Navigation

A traffic separation scheme operates in the Little Minch, with northbound traffic proceeding close to Skye, and southbound close to Harris. Commercial

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

services across the Minch are operated by

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne ( gd, Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn), usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west ...

Lighthouses

In the south, its entrance is marked by lighthouses at

Barra Head Barra Head, also known as Berneray ( gd, Beàrnaraigh; sco, Barra Heid), is the southernmost island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Within the Outer Hebrides, it forms part of the Barra Isles archipelago. Originally, Barra Head only r ...

Ushenish Ushenish is a headland on the remote east coast of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Ushenish Lighthouse The Ushenish Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located in South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. History Ushenish Lighthouse ...

and

Hyskeir Hyskeir ( gd, Òigh-sgeir) or Heyskeir is a low-lying rocky islet (a skerry) in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. The Hyskeir Lighthouse marks the southern entrance to the Minch. Geography Hyskeir lies in the southern entrance to the Minch, 10 kilo ...

. On Skye, there are lights at

Neist Point Neist Point ( gd, Rubha na h-Eist) is a viewpoint on the most westerly point of Skye. Neist Point Lighthouse has been located there since 1909. Geography Neist Point is the most westerly point on the Duirinish peninsula on the Isle of Skye. It ...

, Vaternish and

An t-Iasgair An t-Iasgair (Scottish Gaelic for ''the Fisherman'') is a skerry in the Little Minch, to the north of the Trotternish peninsula of Skye. It lies 1.5 miles north north west of Ru Bornesketaig and is marked by a navigation light. It is the largest a ...

. The Outer Hebrides are marked by

Weavers Point Weavers Point ( gd, Rubha an Fhigheadair) is a headland to the north of the entrance to Loch Maddy, on the north eastern coastline of North Uist in the Western Isles of Scotland. There has been a lighthouse on the headland since 1980. Lighthouse ...

, Eilean Glas,

Tiumpan Head Tiumpan Head (Scottish Gaelic:''Rubha an Tiùmpain'' or ''Rudha an Tiùmpain'') is the north-eastern end of the Point peninsula on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Tiumpan Head Lighthouse has marked the western limit of The Min ...

and

Butt of Lewis The Butt of Lewis ( gd, Rubha Robhanais) is the most northerly point of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The headland, which lies in the North Atlantic, is frequently battered by heavy swells and storms and is marked by the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse ...

. To the east are Rubha Réidh,

Stoer Head Stoer Head (Rubha Stoer in Scots Gaelic) is a point of land north of Lochinver and the township of Stoer in Sutherland, NW Scotland. The lighthouse on the point marks the northern entrance to The Minch The Minch ( gd, An Cuan Sgitheanach, ...

and

Cape Wrath Cape Wrath ( gd, Am Parbh, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in mainland Britain. The cape is separated from the rest of the mai ...

lighthouses.

Other navigational aids

A buoy marks Eugenie Rock (named after the vessel that grounded there in May 1859) and the nearby Sgeir Graidach. Previously, these hazards were marked by a red-painted beacon on Sgeir Graidach, the foundations of which can still be seen at low tide.

Mythology

The mythological

blue men of the Minch The blue men of the Minch, also known as storm kelpies ( gd, na fir ghorma ), are mythological creatures inhabiting the stretch of water between the northern Outer Hebrides and mainland Scotland, looking for sailors to drown and stricken boats t ...

live in the area.

Conservation

The Minch Project is a collaboration of , the

Highland Council The Highland Council (' ), the political body covering the Highland local authority created in 1995, comprises 21 wards, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, which creates a form of proportional represe ...

and

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 ...

that aims to reduce

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

, minimise

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

, minimise

litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, ...

and promote

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

in the Minch, particularly

wildlife tourism Wildlife tourism is an element of many nations' travel industry centered around observation and interaction with local animal and plant life in their natural habitats. While it can include eco- and animal-friendly tourism, safari hunting and si ...

such as

dolphin watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...

. Pollution is a particular concern as the Minch is a busy shipping lane; of shipping pass through the channel each month.

Notes and references

External links

Western Isles local government Minch project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minch Scottish coast Straits of Scotland Landforms of Highland (council area) Landforms of the Outer Hebrides European seas