Uig (Lewis)
| Uig | ||
|---|---|---|
| Waters | Atlantic Ocean | |
| Land mass | Lewis and Harris | |
| Geographical location | 58 ° 11 '23 " N , 7 ° 4' 0" W | |
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| width | 940 m | |
| depth | 3.4 km | |
Uig is the name of a bay on the northwest coast of the island of Lewis and Harris , the largest island in the Outer Hebrides . It is 940 meters wide at the confluence with the open Atlantic and stretches 3.4 km inland. The name is derived from the Nordic Vik , which means "bay". Bhaltos is the largest village in Uig and has about 35 inhabitants. There are also smaller villages.
In 1831 a shepherd discovered a large number of buried chess pieces there, which can be seen today as the Lewis chess pieces in the British Museum in London and the Scottish National Museum in Edinburgh . The figures are mostly carved from walrus ivory and are believed to have come from Norway ( 1150 to 1200 AD ).
Uig is also said to be the birthplace of Brahan Seer , who became known as the " Gaelic Nostradamus " in the 16th century .