The island of Lunga is the largest of the

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. Geo ...

in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Isles are part of the Loch Na Keal National Scenic Area.

History

Lunga, which is of volcanic origin, has been described as 'a green jewel in a peacock sea'. It was inhabited until the 19th century, and still bears the remains of

blackhouse A blackhouse ( ga, teach dubh ; gd, t(a)igh-dubh ) is a traditional type of house which used to be common in Ireland, the Hebrides, and the Scottish Highlands. Origin of the name The origin of the name blackhouse is of some debate. On the Is ...

s. The remains of the ruined village, abandoned in 1857, lie in the northeastern part of the island.

Wildlife

As one of the

, Lunga is a designated

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation. These designations reflect the importance of the island for its marine life, including the grey seals that inhabit the waters around it, and for its breeding colonies of seabirds, including

storm-petrel Storm-petrel may refer to one of two bird families, both in the order Procellariiformes, once treated as the same family. The two families are: *Northern storm petrels (''Hydrobatidae'') are found in the Northern Hemisphere, although some species ...

s, kittiwakes,

Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an ...

s, guillemot,

puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

, European shag and razorbills. (The birds also breed on the Harp Rock, a sea stack separated from Lunga by a narrow gut.) In addition,

barnacle geese The barnacle goose (''Branta leucopsis'') is a species of goose that belongs to the genus ''Branta'' of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey ''Anser'' species. Despite its superficial s ...

winter on the island. Many rare and endangered plants are also native to Lunga, including primrose, birdsfoot trefoil, orchids,

sea campion ''Silene uniflora'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name sea campion. Description ''Silene uniflora'' is a herbaceous perennial plant, similar in appearance to the bladder campion (''Silene vulga ...

sea thrift ''Armeria maritima'', the thrift, sea thrift or sea pink, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae. It is a compact evergreen perennial which grows in low clumps and sends up long stems that support globes of bright pink flow ...

sea pink Sea pink is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * '' Armeria'' spp. * '' Sabatia stellaris'' {{Plant common name