Rainish Eilean Mòr
Encyclopedia
Rainish Eilean Mòr is an uninhabited island in Loch Orasaigh, north of the village of Leurbost
in the area of South Lochs
on the island of Lewis
. At 27 hectares (66.7 acre) in extent, it is one of Scotland's larger freshwater islands, but it is probably the largest relative to the size of the body of water in which it sits, Loch Orasaigh being only about 125 hectares (308.9 acre) all told.
The entirety of the loch has been an SSSI since 1983 and the island's perimeter and the neighbouring islet to the south west have woodland cover including the species of Rowan
, Aspen
, Downy Birch, Grey Willow and Sallow Willow. The underlying geology is Lewisian Gneiss
overlain by peaty podzols and gleys.
Leurbost
Leurbost is a village on the east coast of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It is approximately 6 miles south of Stornoway on the road to Harris. It is the main settlement in the area of the island known as North Lochs...
in the area of South Lochs
Park, Outer Hebrides
Park , also known as South Lochs, is a huge area of land connected to the rest of Lewis only by a narrow neck between Loch Seaforth and Loch Erisort...
on the island of Lewis
Lewis and Harris
Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides make up the largest island in Scotland. This is the largest single island of the British Isles after Great Britain and Ireland.-Geography:...
. At 27 hectares (66.7 acre) in extent, it is one of Scotland's larger freshwater islands, but it is probably the largest relative to the size of the body of water in which it sits, Loch Orasaigh being only about 125 hectares (308.9 acre) all told.
The entirety of the loch has been an SSSI since 1983 and the island's perimeter and the neighbouring islet to the south west have woodland cover including the species of Rowan
Sorbus aucuparia
Sorbus aucuparia , is a species of the genus Sorbus, native to most of Europe except for the far south, and northern Asia...
, Aspen
Populus tremula
Populus tremula, commonly called aspen, common aspen, Eurasian aspen, European aspen, trembling poplar, or quaking aspen, is a species of poplar native to cool temperate regions of Europe and Asia, from the British Isles east to Kamchatka, north to inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and...
, Downy Birch, Grey Willow and Sallow Willow. The underlying geology is Lewisian Gneiss
Lewisian complex
The Lewisian complex or Lewisian Gneiss is a suite of Precambrian metamorphic rocks that outcrop in the northwestern part of Scotland, forming part of the Hebridean Terrane. These rocks are of Archaean and Paleoproterozoic age, ranging from 3.0–1.7 Ga. They form the basement on which the...
overlain by peaty podzols and gleys.