Lewis and Harris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lewis and Harris | |
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| Location | |
  Lewis and Harris
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| Lewis and Harris shown within Scotland. | |
| OS grid reference: | NB240256 |
| Names | |
| Gaelic name: | Leòdhas is na Hearadh |
| Norse name: | Ljóðhús og Hérað |
| Meaning of name: | Old Norse: Ljóðhús = "Poet's House" + Hérað = "a type of administrative district" |
| Area and Summit | |
| Area: | 217,898 ha |
| Area rank (Scottish islands): | 1 |
| Highest elevation: | Clisham 799 m |
| Population | |
| Population (2001): | 19,918 |
| Population rank (inhabited Scottish islands): | 1 out of 97 |
| Main settlement: | Stornoway |
| Groupings | |
| Island Group: | Lewis and Harris |
| Local Authority: | Na h-Eileanan Siar |
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| References: | [1][2][3][4] |
Lewis and Harris (Scottish Gaelic: Leòdhas agus na Hearadh) in the Outer Hebrides make up the largest island in Scotland. Indeed, this island is easily the largest of the British Isles after Great Britain and Ireland. It has an area of 841 square miles (2,180 km²) - slightly under one per cent of the area of Great Britain. It is 24 miles (39 km) from the nearest point of the mainland, from which it is separated by the Minch.
The northern part of the island is called Lewis, the southern is Harris and both are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. Thus the island is referred to as 'Lewis and Harris', 'Lewis with Harris', 'Harris with Lewis' etc.[5]
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[edit] Geography
The boundary between Lewis and Harris is formed by a line with Loch Resort (Reasort) (opposite Scarp) on the west and Loch Seaforth (Shiphoirt) on the east. The island does not actually have a common name in either English or Scots Gaelic. Rarely, the collective name of the Long Island is used,[6] (Gaelic - an t-Eilean Fada) although this is normally applied to the entire Outer Hebrides.[7] Lewis used to belong to the county of Ross and Cromarty and Harris to Inverness-shire, until 1975. The entire island group now belongs to the Western Isles Council.
Most of Harris is mountainous, with more than thirty peaks above 1,000 ft (300 m) high. Lewis is comparatively flat, save in the south-east, where Ben More reaches 1,874 ft (571 m), and in the south-west, where Mealasbhal (1885 ft) is the highest point.
[edit] History
They are the ancestral homeland of the Highland clan MacLeod, with those individuals on Harris being referred to as from the clan MacLeod of Harris or MacLeod of MacLeod, and those on Lewis being referred to as from the clan MacLeod of Lewis.
[edit] Transport Links
The main town in Lewis is Steòrnabhagh (Stornoway) with ferry links to Ullapool and air services to Benbecula (for Barra), Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh. An Tairbeart (Tarbert) is the ferry terminal in Harris with connections to Skye and North Uist.
[edit] Smaller Islands
Other nearby inhabited islands in the Lewis and Harris group are Beàrnaraigh Ùig (Great Bernera) and Sgalpaigh (Scalpay). Tarasaigh (Taransay) and An Sgarp (Scarp) are now-uninhabited islands close to the shore of Harris.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
- ^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh. Canongate.
- ^ Ordnance Survey
- ^ Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) Orkneyinga Saga. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). ISBN 0-901824-25-9
- ^ Thompson, Francis (1968) Harris and Lewis. Newton Abbott. David & Charles.
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (1911) Lewis-with-Harris.
- ^ Murray, W.H. (1966) The Hebrides. London. Heinemann. Page 2
[edit] External links
- Google map
- hebrides.ca Home of the Quebec-Hebridean Scots who were cleared from Lewis to Quebec 1838-1920's
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