Island Macaskin or MacAskin is an island in Loch Craignish

Loch Craignish

Loch Craignish is a sea loch on the mid-Argyll coast.-Geography:Loch Craignish lies between Oban and the Crinan Canal. Its opens into the Sound of Jura and provides a safe anchorage for small craft....

, in the Inner Hebrides

Inner Hebrides

The Inner Hebrides is an archipelago off the west coast of Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which enjoy a mild oceanic climate. There are 36 inhabited islands and a further 43 uninhabited Inner Hebrides with an area greater than...

 of 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...

.

History and wildlife

The island was formerly inhabited, and unusually for the Scottish islands, is quite well wooded, with some mature trees scattered about. It appears to have been abandoned in the 1880s, but there is ample evidence of human habitation on it, including a number of walls, a sheep pen, and a lime kiln.

A number of wild flowers grow here, though not as many as on nearby Eilean Rìgh

Eilean Righ

Eilean Rìgh is an island in the Inner Hebrides of the west coast of Scotland. It lies in Loch Craignish, about 300 m off the Argyll coastline...

.

Geography and geology

The island is long and narrow, aligned SW-NE, parallel to the nearby shore of the mainland. It is basically a ridge, with the west being higher than the east. The western side is dominated by the steep sides to the islands central ridge that reaches a height of 65m (213 feet). A line of skerries extend from the south of the island into the Sound of Jura.

The geology is metamorphic apidiorite with some Dalriadan quartzite

Quartzite

Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...

at the south end.

It is surrounded by various smaller islands including Eilean nan Gabhar, Eilean nan Coinean, Garbh Rèisa, Rèisa an t-Sruith, Rèisa MhicPhàidein and Eilean na Cille.