geo.wikisort.org - Island

Mousa /ˈmuːsə/ (Old Norse: Mosey "moss island") is a small island in Shetland, Scotland, uninhabited since the nineteenth century. The island is known for the Broch of Mousa, an Iron Age round tower, and is designated as a Special Protection Area for storm-petrel breeding colonies.

Mousa

Old Norse name	Mósey (Norwegian: Mosøy)
Meaning of name	Old Norse: moor or mossy island[1]
A snow shower over Mousa
Location
Mousa Mousa shown within the Shetland Islands
OS grid reference	HU460240
Coordinates	60.00°N 1.17°W / 60.00; -1.17
Physical geography
Island group	Shetland
Area	180 hectares (0.69 sq mi)[1]
Area rank	115= [2]
Highest elevation	55 metres (180 ft)[1]
Administration
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Council area	Shetland Islands
Demographics
Population	0
References	[3][4]

Geography

Mousa lies a mile off the east coast of Mainland Shetland in the parish of Dunrossness about 15 miles (24 km) south of Lerwick. Almost divided in two by inlets, East and West Hams, the island is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and almost 1-mile (1.6 km) in maximum width. Geologically beds of hard sandstone alternate with muddy limestones that weather to produce fertile soil. A quarry provided flagstones for Lerwick.[1]

Mousa's fertile soil supports a rich diversity of plants, including sheep's-bit and creeping willow in the herb-rich grassland, despite the wind, salt spray and grazing by sheep.[5]

The Norse tended to consider an island to be something that they could circumnavigate, and this included being able to drag a boat over land. Thus Mousa was considered two islands, namely North Isle and South Isle.

Mousa lies directly on the 60th parallel, 60 degrees north of the equator, 30 degrees south of the north pole.

History

Mousa Broch is the best preserved Iron Age fortification in the British Isles.[6] The 2000-year-old round tower stands above a rocky shoreline, one of a pair of brochs guarding Mousa Sound. They may be part of a chain of brochs in this part of Shetland, visible from each other as beacons. The other of the "pair", at Burland on the Mainland is far less well preserved.[7] Many brochs were the focus of a settlement, but there has never been a full archaeological investigation to confirm this at Mousa. It was cleared out in 1860 and 1919. Mousa has survived intact to such a height and is thought to never have been much higher than it is today. It escaped stone gathering for nearby stone walls and croft houses (now ruined).[8]

Mousa is mentioned in the Orkneyinga Saga as being used as a place of defence during invasions, as well as a lovers' hideout.

The entrance passage into Mousa is long, reflecting the enormous thickness of its walls.[9] At its base the broch is 15m in diameter, but the interior is only 6m in diameter. Within the huge thickness of the base of the walls are a range of chambers probably used for storage, while at higher levels passages run between the inner and outer skins of the wall. On the inside a steep flight of steps leads to the top of the wall. Halfway up is a landing which probably gave access to an upper level of the interior of the broch, built on a ledge running around the circumference of the interior.[8]

Conservation

Mousa is known for grey and common seals, black guillemots, Arctic terns and storm-petrels.[10]

Mousa holds c. 6,800 breeding pairs of European storm-petrels in total. This represents about 8% of the British population and 2.6% of the world population.[11][12] The island is designated as both a Special Protection Area (SAC) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)[13][14] by NatureScot, and is run as a reserve by the RSPB.[10]

The seas surrounding the island are host a population of sandeel that provides a food source for many species fish, seabirds, seals, whales and dolphins: the area is considered to have the most reliable population of sandeels of all the seas surrounding Shetland.[15] These seas are therefore also protected, forming both a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area (NCMPA).[16][17]

Storm petrels may also be found at the reserve of Haaf Gruney.

Transport

The island is readily accessed using the passenger-only ferry which operates from the Shetland Mainland at Leebitton, Sandwick in summer time.

See also

• List of islands of Scotland

Footnotes

На других языках

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[de] Mousa

Mousa ist eine kleine schottische Shetlandinsel, östlich der Hauptinsel Mainland, die durch den etwa einen Kilometer breiten Mousa Sound von dieser getrennt wird.

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- [en] Mousa

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[es] Mousa

Mousa (nórdico antiguo: Mosey "isla musgosa") es una pequeña isla que forma parte del archipiélago de las Shetland. Está deshabitada desde el siglo XIX. Esta isla es conocida por el broch de Mousa, torre redonda de la Edad del Hierro, y está considerada una zona de especial protección por las colonias de cría de hidrobátidos.

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[fr] Mousa (Écosse)

Mousa est une île des Shetland. Son nom vient du norrois mosey, « île moussue ». Elle est inhabitée depuis le XIXe siècle. Elle doit sa réputation à son broch, tour circulaire remontant à l'Âge du fer. C'est aujourd'hui une zone de protection spéciale pour les colonies de pétrels qui y nichent.

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[it] Mousa (isola)

Mousa (pron.: /ˈmuːsə/) è un'isola sull'oceano Atlantico della Scozia nord-orientale, facente parte dell'arcipelago delle Shetland. L'isola, ora disabitata[1][2], fa parte, dal punto di vista amministrativo, della parrocchia civile di Sandwick.

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[ru] Муса (остров)

Му́са (англ. Mousa) — необитаемый остров в архипелаге Шетландских островов, Шотландия.

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