The Minch
Encyclopedia
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
in north-west 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...
, separating the north-west Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
, and the northern 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...
, from Lewis
Lewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
and Harris in the Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
. It was known as "Skotlandsfjörð" ("Scotland's fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
/firth") in Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
.
The Lower Minch (an Cuan Canach), also called The Little Minch, is to the south and separates Skye
Skye
Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills...
from the lower Outer Hebrides: North Uist
North Uist
North Uist is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.-Geography:North Uist is the tenth largest Scottish island and the thirteenth largest island surrounding Great Britain. It has an area of , slightly smaller than South Uist. North Uist is connected by causeways to Benbecula...
, Benbecula
Benbecula
Benbecula is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2001 census it had a usually resident population of 1,249, with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It forms part of the area administered by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar or the Western...
, South Uist
South Uist
South Uist is an island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. In the 2001 census it had a usually resident population of 1,818. There is a nature reserve and a number of sites of archaeological interest, including the only location in Great Britain where prehistoric mummies have been found. The...
, Barra
Barra
The island of Barra is a predominantly Gaelic-speaking island, and apart from the adjacent island of Vatersay, to which it is connected by a causeway, is the southernmost inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.-Geography:The 2001 census showed that the resident population was 1,078...
etc. It opens into the Sea of the Hebrides
Sea of the Hebrides
The Sea of the Hebrides is a portion of the North Atlantic Ocean, located off the coast of western Scotland, separating the mainland and the northern Inner Hebrides islands from the southern Outer Hebrides islands...
. The Little Minch is the northern limit of the Sea of the Hebrides
Sea of the Hebrides
The Sea of the Hebrides is a portion of the North Atlantic Ocean, located off the coast of western Scotland, separating the mainland and the northern Inner Hebrides islands from the southern Outer Hebrides islands...
.
The Minch and Lower Minch form part of the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland
Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland
The Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland is a marine area designated by the International Hydrographic Organization . It consists of a number of waterbodies between the Scottish mainland, the Outer Hebrides islands, and the coast of Northern Ireland....
, as defined by the International Hydrographic Organization
International Hydrographic Organization
The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing the hydrographic community. It enjoys observer status at the UN and is the recognised competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting...
.
The Minch ranges from 20 to 45 mi (32.2 to 72.4 km) wide and is approximately 70 miles (112.7 km) long. It is believed to be the site of the biggest meteorite
Ullapool bolide impact
Evidence for a bolide impact centered on Ullapool was published by a combined team of scientists from the University of Oxford and the University of Aberdeen, in March 2008. The evidence is centred on Ullapool, a harbour town on Loch Broom in the Ross and Cromarty district of the Highland council...
ever to hit the British Isles. The Lower Minch is about 15 miles (24.1 km) wide. In June 2010 Eilidh Macdonald became the first person to swim the Little Minch, taking 9.5 hours to cross from Waternish Point
Waternish
Waternish or Bhatairnis/Vaternish is a peninsula approximately long on the island of Skye, Scotland, situated between Loch Dunvegan and Loch Snizort in the northwest of the island, and traditionally inhabited and owned by Clan MacLeod whose clan seat is at the nearby Dunvegan Castle. The current...
on Skye to Rodel
Rodel
Rodel is a village on the south-eastern coast of Harris, an island in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. It was formerly the historic capital and main port of Harris before Tarbert took the title....
on Harris.
The Minch Project is a collaboration of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is the local government council for Na h-Eileanan Siar council area of Scotland.It is the only local council in Scotland to have a Gaelic-only name...
, the Highland Council and the Scottish Natural Heritage
Scottish Natural Heritage
Scottish Natural Heritage is a Scottish public body. It is responsible for Scotland's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and scenic diversity. It advises the Scottish Government and acts as a government agent in the delivery of conservation designations, i.e...
which aims to reduce pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, minimise erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
, minimise litter
Litter
Litter consists of waste products such as containers, papers, wrappers or faeces which have been disposed of without consent. Litter can also be used as a verb...
and promote tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
— in particular wildlife tourism
Wildlife tourism
Wildlife tourism can be an eco and animal friendly tourism, usually showing animals in their natural habitat. Wildlife tourism, in its simplest sense, is watching wild animals in their natural habitat...
such as dolphin watching — in the Minch. Pollution is a particular concern as the Minch is a busy shipping lane — two and a half million tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s of shipping pass through the channel each month
Month
A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, which was first used and invented in Mesopotamia, as a natural period related to the motion of the Moon; month and Moon are cognates. The traditional concept arose with the cycle of moon phases; such months are synodic months and last approximately...
.
Commercial ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
services across the Minch are operated by Caledonian MacBrayne
Caledonian MacBrayne
Caledonian MacBrayne is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west coast...
.
Lighthouses
The Minch is a shipping channel. In the south, its entrance is marked by lighthouses at Barra Head, UshenishUshenish
Ushenish is a headland on the remote east coast of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. There has been a lighthouse on the headland since 1857.-Lighthouse:...
and Hyskeir. On Skye, there are lights at Neist Point
Neist Point
Neist Point is a popular viewpoint on the most westerly point of Skye. It has had a lighthouse since 1909.-Geography:Neist Point is the most westerly point on the Duirinish peninsula on the Isle of Skye. It projects into The Minch and provides a popular walk and viewpoint.-Natural history:Basalt...
, Vaternish
Waternish Point
Vaternish Point is the north western point of the Waternish peninsula on Skye. It has had a lighthouse since 1924.-Lighthouse:Vaternish Lighthouse was built on Waternish Point in 1924. The engineers were David and Charles Stevenson. The original lens was donated to the Museum of Scottish...
and An t-Iasgair
An t-Iasgair
An t-Iasgair is a rock/reef to the north of the Trotternish peninsula of Skye. It lies 1.5 miles NNW of Ru Bornesketaig and is marked by a navigation light....
. The Outer Hebrides are marked by Weavers Point
Weavers Point
Weavers Point is a headland to the north of the entrance to Loch Maddy, on the north eastern coastline of North Uist in the Western Isles of Scotland. There has been a lighthouse on the headland since 1980....
, Eilean Glas, Tiumpan Head
Tiumpan Head
Tiumpan Head is the end of the Eye peninsula on Lewis. A lighthouse has marked the western limit of The Minch since 1900.-Lighthouse:...
and Butt of Lewis
Butt of Lewis
The Butt of Lewis is the most northerly point of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The headland, which lies in the North Atlantic, is frequently battered by heavy swells and storms.-Lighthouse:...
. To the east are Rubh Re
Rua Reidh Lighthouse
Rua Reidh Lighthouse stands close to the entrance to Loch Ewe in Wester Ross, Scotland.-Lighthouse:A lighthouse on Rubh'Re Point was first proposed by David Stevenson in 1853. Building was started by his son, David Alan Stevenson in 1908 and the light was first lit on 15 January 1912. The light...
, Stoer Head
Stoer Head
Stoer Head is a point of land beyond Lochinver in Sutherland. A lighthouse on the point marks the northern entrance to The Minch.-Lighthouse:The lighthouse was built by David and Thomas Stevenson in 1870. It lies 9 miles northwest of Lochinver. The former keepers' cottage is available for rent as...
and Cape Wrath lighthouses.