Hascosay
Encyclopedia
Hascosay is a small island
lying between Yell and Fetlar
in the Shetland Islands
, Scotland
.
ceous gneiss
.
The island has several pools, but the fresh water in them is frequently contaminated by salt spray.
The area of Hascosay is just over one square mile.
, Arthur Nicholson, who had bought it had "cleared" parts of Fetlar
, and it is possible that the islanders removed themselves in anticipation of a possible future forcible eviction by this landowner.
on account of its largely undisturbed blanket bog
habitat. It is also home to a population of otter
s.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
lying between Yell and Fetlar
Fetlar
Fetlar is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland, with a population of 86 at the time of the 2001 census. Its main settlement is Houbie on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre...
in the Shetland Islands
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Geography and geology
The island's rock is coarse micaMica
The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...
ceous gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
.
The island has several pools, but the fresh water in them is frequently contaminated by salt spray.
The area of Hascosay is just over one square mile.
History
The population of the island was 42 in 1841, but had shrunk to thirteen within a decade. A mere twenty years later, the island was uninhabited. The lairdLaird
A Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...
, Arthur Nicholson, who had bought it had "cleared" parts of Fetlar
Fetlar
Fetlar is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland, with a population of 86 at the time of the 2001 census. Its main settlement is Houbie on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre...
, and it is possible that the islanders removed themselves in anticipation of a possible future forcible eviction by this landowner.
Wildlife
The island is designated as a Special Area of ConservationSpecial Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive , also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora...
on account of its largely undisturbed blanket bog
Blanket bog
Blanket bog or blanket mire is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses of undulating ground. The blanketing of the ground with a variable depth of peat...
habitat. It is also home to a population of otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
s.