Rockall

Rockall is a small, rocky islet in the North Atlantic but is probably better known as one of the British Sea Areas named in the Shipping Forecast broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The status of the surrounding ocean floor is disputed between the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Denmark (for the Faroe Islands), and Iceland.

Geography

The rock is the summit of an extinct volcano and is located at {{coor dms|57|35|48|N|13|41|19|W|}}. It is 301.4 kilometres (187.3 statute miles or 162.7 nautical miles) west of the uninhabited island of Soay, St. Kilda, Scotland and 368.7 kilometres (229.1 statute miles) west of the hamlet of Hogha Gearraidh, on the island of North Uist, Scotland. It is 424 kilometres (265 statute miles) north-west of Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. The rock is about 25 metres (83 feet) wide at its base and rises sheer to a height of approximately 22 metres (72 feet). It is regularly washed over by large storm waves, particularly in winter. There is a small ledge of 3.5 metres by 1.3 metres (11 feet by 4 feet), known as Hall's Ledge, 4 metres (13 feet) from the summit. The rock's only permanent inhabitants are periwinkles and other marine molluscs. Small numbers of seabirds, mainly fulmars, gannets, kittiwakes, and guillemots, use the rock for resting in summer, and gannets and guillemots occasionally breed successfully if the summer is calm with no storm waves washing over the rock. There is no natural source of fresh water.

Related Topics:
Volcano - Kilometre - Statute mile - Nautical mile - Soay, St. Kilda - Scotland - Donegal - Metre - Feet - Periwinkle - Mollusc - Fulmar - Gannet - Kittiwake - Guillemot

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rockall is also close to the Darwin Mounds, deep-water coral mounds about 185 km (100 nm or 115 mi) north-west of Cape Wrath.

Related Topics:
Darwin Mounds - Coral - Cape Wrath

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~