. The earth and its inhabitants ... ^ converted severalislands along the coast into peninsulas. Thepeninsula of Morven, for instance, on thewestern side of Loch Linnhe, is, in reality,an insular mass like its neighbour Mull. Theelongated peninsula of Kintyre, whose Gaelic name {Ccan tire) means Lands End,or Finisterre, may also be looked upon as an island, for the neck which attachesit to the mainland is no more than 60 feet in height. This neck of land is traversedby the Crinan Canal, 9 miles in length, which is in reality a southern dependencyof the Caledonian Canal, and enables vessels drav
. The earth and its inhabitants ... ^ converted severalislands along the coast into peninsulas. Thepeninsula of Morven, for instance, on thewestern side of Loch Linnhe, is, in reality,an insular mass like its neighbour Mull. Theelongated peninsula of Kintyre, whose Gaelic name {Ccan tire) means Lands End,or Finisterre, may also be looked upon as an island, for the neck which attachesit to the mainland is no more than 60 feet in height. This neck of land is traversedby the Crinan Canal, 9 miles in length, which is in reality a southern dependencyof the Caledonian Canal, and enables vessels drav/ing 10 feet of water to proceedfrom the North Sea to the Clyde and Ireland without circumnavigating thenorthern extremity of Scotland. A similar canal through Kintyre has beenprojected farther south, where the two Lochs Tarbert approach within three-quarters of a mile of each other. * Cleghorn, Observations on the Water of Wick, Journal of ths Royal Geographical 2 Miles. NORTHERN SCOTLAND. 343 If we include mere rocks, the islands dependent upon Scotland must benumbered by thousands ; but official statistics only mention 788 islands, ofwhich 186 were inhabited in 1871, or 4 less than ten years before. Thearchipelago, properly to be described by such a name, which lies nearest tothe Scotch coast, is that formed by the Orkneys, or Seal Islands, as theirIcelandic name has been rendered.* The distance between Duncansby Headand South Ronaldsha, the southernmost of the group, hardly exceeds 6 Firth, as the separating channel is called, is dreaded for its currentsproduced by conflicting tides. Off Stroma boils the whirlpool of Swelkie, Fig. 168.—Holy Loch, and the rilted-up Loch of 1 : 100,000.
Size: 1191px × 2098px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectgeography, bookyear18
