Berneray
| Berneray | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Waters | North Atlantic |
| Archipelago | Outer Hebrides |
| Geographical location | 57 ° 43 '12 " N , 7 ° 11' 24" W |
_OH.svg) |
|
| surface | 10.1 km² |
| Highest elevation | Beinn Shleibhe 93 m above sea level NN |
| Residents | 138 (2011) 14 inhabitants / km² |
| main place | Borve and Rushgarry |
Berneray ( Scottish Gaelic : Beàrnaraigh , from Old Norwegian for Bjørns Insel ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland .
geography
Berneray is located in the Sound of Harris between the islands of Lewis and Harris in the northeast and North Uist in the southwest. It is closer to North Uist and therefore belongs to the Uist archipelago . Berneray is one of two inhabited islands in the Sound of Harris .
Berneray is 10.1 km². The highest point is the Beinn Shleibhe at 93 meters , and the second highest is the 85 m high Borve Hill . In 2001, 136 people lived in the two scattered settlements of Borve and Rushgarry .
In the west of the island there is a sandy beach about five kilometers long. Berneray is characterized by the Machair soil type made from blown clam shell remains, which was cultivated here particularly thoroughly by mixing it with seaweed and leaving it fallow for a while.
history
Berneray has been settled for a long time. Numerous holy places, stone circles and traces of the Vikings bear witness to this. The island is considered the birthplace of the legendary giant Angus MacAskill .
In 1999, the Berneray Causeway embankment was opened between Otternish on North Uist and Berneray.
economy
The main sources of income are fishing , agriculture (mostly through crofters ) and tourism . The construction of the Berneray Causeway improved the accessibility of the island and thus enabled a faster turnover of goods.
Flora and fauna
The flora is very diverse thanks to the partly fallow land. In addition to harbor seals and gray seals, there are numerous species of birds, including geese , swans , waders, and sea birds . Otters live in the sea around the island .
Others
Some islands in the Outer Hebrides have similar names. Northwest of the Lewis region are Great Bernera and Little Bernera . Barra Head in the south of the archipelago is sometimes called Berneray . In addition, the small island of Bernera Island is located southwest of Lismore . To distinguish it, Berneray is also called Berneray, North Uist .
