1.
Slate Islands (Ontario)
–
The Slate Islands archipelago is formed of two main islands, five minor islands and numerous islets located in northern Lake Superior,10 kilometres south of the town of Terrace Bay. The islands were created by an impact which formed a crater about 32 km wide. In 1985, the Ontario government established the Slate Islands as a natural environment provincial park, the islands are notable for having Ontarios largest herd of boreal woodland caribou. The total surface area is about 36 square kilometres, the nearby Leadman Group of islands one km east is often considered part of the Slate Islands. The islands are home to woodland caribou which have been studied extensively from 1974 to today by Dr. A. T, the caribou are a classic example of island biogeography in action, the islands are notable for species that are absent but present on the adjacent mainland. No ungulates were present on the islands until the arrived in the early 1900s. And, no predators of caribou were present, Caribou reached the highest population density in the world on the islands before the 1990s, with the herd estimated at 650 animals. After a food shortage and die-off in 1990, the numbers were reduced to about 100, in 2012 there are about 200 caribou on the Slate Islands. Wolves reached the archipelago in the early 1990s preying heavily on the caribou, other mammals found on the islands include beaver, muskrat, snowshoe hare, short-tailed weasel, red-backed vole, and red fox. The waters surrounding the Slate Islands have been protected from fishing to preserve one of the last native stocks of lake trout in Lake Superior. The Islands have been a source of lake trout brood stock used at the Dorion Fish Hatchery, the cooling effect of Lake Superior makes the Slate Islands a particularly harsh habitat for its latitude. As a result, islands harbour arctic and alpine plant species such as chickweed, Dryas drummondii, and alpine bistort. These arctic disjuncts are reminders of ice ages and associated conditions in this area in the past. Human sites have found on the islands dating to about 1000CE. A lighthouse was built on Patterson Island, the largest island, in 1903 to help locate the harbour at the nearby town of Jackfish. The island is named after William Patterson, a former lieutenant-governor of Saskatchewan, later, a fishing station was built on McColl Island. The original forests on the islands were modified by logging and forest fires, up until the 1940s, the islands were used to stockpile boomed logs from the mainland Lake Superior north shore for export on lake freighters to pulp mills in the United States. In 1985, the Slate Islands were protected as an Ontario Natural Environment Provincial Park, there are no facilities and the islands can only be accessed via boat or airplane
2.
Scarba
–
Scarba is a small island, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, just north of the much larger island of Jura. The island was owned by Richard Hill, 7th Baron Sandys and has not been inhabited since the 1960s. It is now covered in heather and used for grazing animals, Kilmory Lodge is used seasonally as a shooting lodge, the island having a flourishing herd of red deer. The islands name is from the Norse and may mean sharp, stony, Scarba is not served by any public ferries, but access from Craobh Haven or Crinan Harbour is possible by arrangement with local boatmen. The rough summit ridge can be accessed from the harbour at the north end, after that, there are no paths or well defined routes, and the terrain becomes rough and boggy. The island rises steeply to a peak of 449 metres, although there are no technical difficulties, the summits are often shrouded in mist, through which navigation skill may be required. A cylindrical triangulation point marks the highest of several summits, which are surrounded by several small lochs, between Scarba and Jura lies the Gulf of Corryvreckan, known for its whirlpool. Writing in 1549, Dean Monro wrote of Skarbay that between it and Duray, Ther runnes ane streame, above the power of all sailing and rowing, with infinite dangers and this stream is aught myle lang, quhilk may not be hantit bot be certain tyds. This Skarbay is four myles lange from the west to the eist, Scarba and a few nearby islets are collectively the Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs National Scenic Area. Monro, Sir Donald Description of the Western Isles of Scotland, media related to Scarba at Wikimedia Commons
3.
Island
–
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, an island in a river or a lake island may be called an eyot or ait, and a small island off the coast may be called a holm. A grouping of geographically or geologically related islands is called an archipelago, an island may be described as such, despite the presence of an artificial land bridge. Example, Singapore and its causeway, or the various Dutch delta islands, there are two main types of islands in the sea, continental and oceanic. The word island derives from Middle English iland, from Old English igland, Old English ieg is actually a cognate of Swedish ö and German Aue, and related to Latin aqua. There is a difference between islands and continents in terms of geology, continents sit on continental lithosphere which is part of tectonic plates floating high on Earths mantle. Oceanic crust is also part of tectonic plates, but it is denser than continental lithosphere, Islands are either extensions of the oceanic crust or geologically they are part of some continent sitting on continental lithosphere. This holds true for Australia, which sits on its own continental lithosphere, continental islands are bodies of land that lie on the continental shelf of a continent. A special type of island is the microcontinental island, which is created when a continent is rifted. Examples are Madagascar and Socotra off Africa, the Kerguelen Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, another subtype is an island or bar formed by deposition of tiny rocks where water current loses some of its carrying capacity. While some are transitory and may disappear if the volume or speed of the current changes, others are stable, oceanic islands are islands that do not sit on continental shelves. The vast majority are volcanic in origin, such as Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, the few oceanic islands that are not volcanic are tectonic in origin and arise where plate movements have lifted up the ocean floor above the surface. Examples are Saint Peter and Paul Rocks in the Atlantic Ocean, one type of volcanic oceanic island is found in a volcanic island arc. These islands arise from volcanoes where the subduction of one plate under another is occurring, examples are the Aleutian Islands, the Mariana Islands, and most of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean. The only examples in the Atlantic Ocean are some of the Lesser Antilles, another type of volcanic oceanic island occurs where an oceanic rift reaches the surface. There are two examples, Iceland, which is the second largest volcanic island, and Jan Mayen. A third type of oceanic island is formed over volcanic hotspots. A hotspot is more or less stationary relative to the tectonic plate above it
4.
Scotland
–
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
5.
Oban
–
Oban is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William, during the tourist season, the town can play host to up to 25,000 people. Oban occupies a setting in the Firth of Lorn, the bay is a near perfect horseshoe, protected by the island of Kerrera, and beyond Kerrera, the Isle of Mull. To the north, is the long low island of Lismore, the site where Oban now stands has been used by humans since at least mesolithic times, as evidenced by archaeological remains of cave dwellers found in the town. Just outside the town stands Dunollie Castle, on a site that overlooks the entrance to the bay and has been fortified since the Bronze age. Prior to the 19th century, the town itself supported very few households, sustaining only minor fishing, trading, shipbuilding and quarrying industries, and a few hardy tourists. The Renfrew trading company established a storehouse there in about 1714 as an outlet for its merchandise. The modern town of Oban grew up around the distillery, which was founded there in 1794, the town was raised to a burgh of barony in 1811 by royal charter. Sir Walter Scott visited the area in 1814, the year in which he published his poem The Lord of the Isles, the arrival of the railways in the 1880s brought further prosperity, revitalising local industry and giving new energy to tourism. Shortly thereafter, McCaigs Tower, a folly and prominent local landmark, was constructed, during World War II, Oban was used by Merchant and Royal Navy ships and was an important base in the Battle of the Atlantic. The Royal Navy had a station near Ganavan, and an anti-submarine indicator loop station. There was a minefield in the Sound of Kerrera, which was operated from a building near the caravan site at Gallanach. There was also a Royal Air Force flying boat base at Ganavan and on Kerrera, a Sector Operations Room was built near the airfield, after the war, this was extended to become the Royal Observer Corps Group HQ. Oban was also important during the Cold War because the first Transatlantic Telephone Cable came ashore at Gallanach Bay and this carried the Hot Line between the US and USSR presidents. Since the 1950s, the industry has remained tourism, though the town is also an important ferry port. As with the rest of the British Isles, Oban experiences a climate with cool summers. The nearest official Met Office weather station for which records are available is Dunstaffnage. Rainfall is high, but thanks to the Gulf stream the temperature falls below zero
6.
Easdale
–
Easdale is one of the Slate Islands, in the Firth of Lorn, Scotland. Once the centre of the Scottish slate industry, there has been some recent island regeneration, a ferry sails from Easdale to Ellenabeich on the nearby island of Seil, which is separated from Easdale by only a narrow channel. Confusingly, Ellenabeich is sometimes known as Easdale as a result of its connections with the island. Haswell Smith notes that eas is Gaelic for waterfall and dal is Norse for valley, nonetheless, it is not clear why either description should apply to the island which is low lying and has no waterfalls. The Gaelic name, Èisdeal or Eilean Èisdeal has a long vowel, Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland states that the first element is obscure, the second Norse dalr. It is not clear if this Èisdeal shares its derivation with Gleann Èisdeal on the Isle of Arran, ellenbeich is usually analysed as Eilean nam Beathach island of the animals but this may be a reflex of an earlier and homophonous form Eilean nam Beitheach island of the birch trees. Once a centre of the British slate industry, Easdale had a community of more than 500 working as many as seven quarries, some of which extended to 300 feet below sea level. Easdale slate helped to build major cities of the British Empire and can still be seen on rooftops as far afield as Melbourne, Nova Scotia, the great storm of 1850 flooded most of the quarries. Lacking any means of pumping the water away, the industry on the island more or less came to an abrupt end. The last slate was cut in the 1950s and the active quarries are little more than still pools which provide a safe haven for a wide variety of flora. This was eventually swept away by the sea and little sign of the island now remains. By the early 1960s, the population had dwindled to four people. Descendants of the quarrymen, along with others from around the world, have moved to Easdale to create a model of island regeneration. The island now has a population of sixty people and is the smallest permanently inhabited island of the Inner Hebrides. The island is owned by Jonathan Feigenbaum, who succeeded his late father Clive Feigenbaum, Clive created local issues of stamps, and Jonathan has continued doing this. The island is home to a museum owned and operated by the Eilean Eisdeal. Eilean Eisdeal spearheaded the renovation of the Easdale Island Community Hall, according to Mike Scott of the Waterboys, The Hall itself is magical. From the first sighting of its roof and arced frontispiece across the water to stepping off its stage at the end of the concert
7.
Lunga (Slate Islands)
–
Lunga is one of the Slate Islands in the Firth of Lorn in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Grey Dog tidal race, which runs in the sea channel to the south, the name Lunga is derived from the Old Norse for isle of the longships, but almost all other place names are Gaelic in origin. The population was never substantial and today the main activity is a centre on the northern headland of Rubha Fiola. The surrounding seas are fished for prawns and scallops and there is a farm off the south eastern shores. The National Scenic Area of which the island is part, hosts a number of outdoor leisure pursuits. Lunga is 2 kilometres west of the island of Luing and just north of Scarba, the nearest town is Oban some 16 kilometres to the north. The channel to the south, Bealach a Choin Ghlais, is only 200 metres wide and is scoured by the notorious Grey Dog tidal race which reaches 8 knots when in full flood. About 1 cable broad, and the stream of water during the part of ebb. So great is the overfall on the current, that even during moderate tides it is impossible to force a boat through and this strait is sometimes called the Little Corryvreckan after its greater cousin between Scarba and Jura just a few miles to the south. There are numerous islets in the surrounding waters, to the north is the isle of Belnahua and to the north west are Eilean Dubh Mor and the Garvellachs. Due west there is only Dubh Artach lighthouse between Lunga and the open Atlantic Ocean, at high tide the northern tip of Lunga becomes several separate islets with Rubha Fiola to the north, then Fiola Meadhonach, Eilean Ioasal and Fiola an Droma closest to Lunga proper. All around are smaller skerries and islets, including Eilean a Bhealaich, Guirasdeal to the south west and this complexity of land and sea coupled with the strong tides makes these the most treacherous channels on Scotlands west coast. The highest point is Bidean na h-Iolaire and the bay is Camas a Mhor-Fhir to the south which provides an escape route from the Grey Dog. The only other anchorage for passing yachts is at Poll nan Corran, on the east coast, prior to the Pleistocene ice ages Lunga was part of a long peninsula stretching south west parallel to Kintyre. The Firth of Lorn glacier sliced this peninsula into several islands, including Islay, Jura, Scarba, Lunga, Luing, later changes in sea level left raised beaches over much of the west coast of Scotland and Lunga has several examples. It is a trough, made up of flagstones, which never runs dry. The legend associated with the Bealach a Choin Ghlais is part of the story that surrounds the naming of the nearby Gulf of Corryvreckan. This is where the Norse Prince Breacan of Lochlann is said to have drowned when his boat sank there, the princes dog managed to swim to land and went in search of his master
8.
Kerrera
–
Kerrera is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, close to the town of Oban. In 2016 it had a population of 45 divided into two communities in the North and South of the island, the island is linked to the mainland by passenger ferry from the Gallanach Road from where tracks lead to the scattered settlements in the centre and south of the island. The northern tip of the island, centred round a boat yard, is served by two ferries which berth at a bay near Ardentrive Farm, and is linked by a rough track to the rest of the island. The island is around 7 km long and around 2 km wide, the island is known for the ruined Gylen Castle, a small tower house built in 1582. It was also the place where Alexander II of Scotland died in 1249, the highest point on Kerrera is Carn Breugach at 189 m. Most of the island is owned by the McDougalls of Dunollie, the four-acre tidal island at the north-east tip of Kerrera, Rubh a Chruidh, was sold for £426,000 in 2010 to Lanarkshire businessman David Hamilton. Who built an American beach style three bedroom house and a helipad on the island, the artist J. M. W. Turner visited Kerrera in 1831 and made 25 sketches of the castle which are in the Tate Gallery, London. The main industries on the island are farming and tourism and there is a bird sanctuary. There is a tea room/café at the end near Gylen Castle but no metalled roads, no store. The castle itself was restored in 2006 and is open to the public
9.
Geology
–
Geology is an earth science concerned with the solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Geology can also refer generally to the study of the features of any terrestrial planet. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth by providing the evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life. Geology also plays a role in engineering and is a major academic discipline. The majority of data comes from research on solid Earth materials. These typically fall into one of two categories, rock and unconsolidated material, the majority of research in geology is associated with the study of rock, as rock provides the primary record of the majority of the geologic history of the Earth. There are three types of rock, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The rock cycle is an important concept in geology which illustrates the relationships between three types of rock, and magma. When a rock crystallizes from melt, it is an igneous rock, the sedimentary rock can then be subsequently turned into a metamorphic rock due to heat and pressure and is then weathered, eroded, deposited, and lithified, ultimately becoming a sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rock may also be re-eroded and redeposited, and metamorphic rock may also undergo additional metamorphism, all three types of rocks may be re-melted, when this happens, a new magma is formed, from which an igneous rock may once again crystallize. Geologists also study unlithified material which typically comes from more recent deposits and these materials are superficial deposits which lie above the bedrock. Because of this, the study of material is often known as Quaternary geology. This includes the study of sediment and soils, including studies in geomorphology, sedimentology and this theory is supported by several types of observations, including seafloor spreading, and the global distribution of mountain terrain and seismicity. This coupling between rigid plates moving on the surface of the Earth and the mantle is called plate tectonics. The development of plate tectonics provided a basis for many observations of the solid Earth. Long linear regions of geologic features could be explained as plate boundaries, mid-ocean ridges, high regions on the seafloor where hydrothermal vents and volcanoes exist, were explained as divergent boundaries, where two plates move apart. Arcs of volcanoes and earthquakes were explained as convergent boundaries, where one plate subducts under another, transform boundaries, such as the San Andreas Fault system, resulted in widespread powerful earthquakes. Plate tectonics also provided a mechanism for Alfred Wegeners theory of continental drift and they also provided a driving force for crustal deformation, and a new setting for the observations of structural geology
10.
Slate
–
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock, foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering, but instead is in planes perpendicular to the direction of metamorphic compression. The foliation in slate is called slaty cleavage and it is caused by strong compression causing fine grained clay flakes to regrow in planes perpendicular to the compression. Slate is frequently grey in color, especially when seen, en masse, Slate is not to be confused with shale, from which it may be formed, or schist. The word slate is used for certain types of object made from slate rock. It may mean a single roofing tile made of slate, or a writing slate and this was traditionally a small smooth piece of the rock, often framed in wood, used with chalk as a notepad or noticeboard, and especially for recording charges in pubs and inns. The phrases clean slate and blank slate come from this usage, before the mid-19th century, the terms slate, shale and schist were not sharply distinguished. In the context of underground mining in the United States. For example, roof slate referred to shale above a coal seam, occasionally, as in the purple slates of North Wales, ferrous reduction spheres form around iron nuclei, leaving a light green spotted texture. These spheres are sometimes deformed by a subsequent applied stress field to ovoids, Slate can be made into roofing slates, a type of roof shingle, or more specifically a type of roof tile, which are installed by a slater. Slate has two lines of breakability – cleavage and grain – which make it possible to split the stone into thin sheets, when broken, slate retains a natural appearance while remaining relatively flat and easy to stack. Slate is particularly suitable as a material as it has an extremely low water absorption index of less than 0. 4%. In fact, this natural slate, which requires only minimal processing, has the lowest embodied energy of all roofing materials, natural slate is used by building professionals as a result of its beauty and durability. Slate is incredibly durable and can last several hundred years, often little or no maintenance. Its low water makes it very resistant to frost damage and breakage due to freezing. Natural slate is also fire resistant and energy efficient, Slate roof tiles are usually fixed either with nails, or with hooks as is common with Spanish slate. In the UK, fixing is typically with double nails onto timber battens or nailed directly onto timber sarking boards, nails were traditionally of copper, although there are modern alloy and stainless steel alternatives. Both these methods, if used properly, provide a long-lasting weathertight roof with a lifespan of around 80–100 years, Slate roofs are still used today
11.
Islay
–
Islay is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as The Queen of the Hebrides, it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura, the islands capital is Bowmore where the distinctive round Kilarrow Parish Church and a distillery are located. Port Ellen is the main port, Islay is the fifth-largest Scottish island and the seventh-largest island surrounding Great Britain, with a total area of almost 620 square kilometres. There is ample evidence of the settlement of Islay and the first written reference may have come in the 1st century AD. The island had become part of the Gaelic Kingdom of Dál Riata during the Early Middle Ages before being absorbed into the Norse Kingdom of the Isles. During the 17th century the Clan Donald star waned, but improvements to agriculture and transport led to a rising population and this was followed by substantial forced displacements and declining resident numbers. Today, it has over 3,000 inhabitants and the commercial activities are agriculture, malt whisky distillation. The island has a history of religious observance and Scottish Gaelic is spoken by about a quarter of the population. Its landscapes have been celebrated through various art forms and there is a growing interest in renewable energy, Islay is home to many bird species such as the wintering populations of Greenland white-fronted and barnacle goose, and is a popular destination throughout the year for birdwatchers. The climate is mild and ameliorated by the Gulf Stream, Islay is 40 kilometres long from north to south and 24 kilometres broad. The east coast is rugged and mountainous, rising steeply from the Sound of Islay, the highest peak being Beinn Bheigier, the western peninsulas are separated from the main bulk of the island by the waters of Loch Indaal to the south and Loch Gruinart to the north. The fertile and windswept southwestern arm is called The Rinns, the south coast is sheltered from the prevailing winds and, as a result, relatively wooded. The fractal coast has numerous bays and sea lochs, including Loch an t-Sailein, Aros Bay, in the far southwest is a rocky and now largely uninhabited peninsula called The Oa, the closest point in the Hebrides to Ireland. The islands population is centred around the villages of Bowmore. Other smaller villages include Bridgend, Ballygrant, Port Charlotte, Portnahaven, the rest of the island is sparsely populated and mainly agricultural. The underlying geology of Islay is intricate for such a small area, the deformed Palaeoproterozoic igneous rock of the Rhinns complex is dominated by a coarse-grained gneiss cut by large intrusions of deformed gabbro. Once thought to be part of the Lewisian complex, it lies beneath the Colonsay Group of metasedimentary rocks that forms the bedrock at the end of the Rinns. It is a quartz-rich metamorphic marine sandstone that may be unique to Scotland, south of Rubh a Mhail there are outcrops of quartzite, and a strip of mica schist and limestone cuts across the centre of the island from The Oa to Port Askaig
12.
Colonsay
–
Colonsay is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil, it is in the area of Argyll. Aligned on a south-west to north-east axis, it measures 8 miles in length and it is linked by a tidal causeway to Oronsay. The highest point on the island is Carnan Eoin,143 metres above sea level, the sequence has been correlated with the Grampian Group, the oldest part of the Dalradian Supergroup. Hazelnuts have been found on other Mesolithic sites, but rarely in such quantities or concentrated in one pit, the nuts were radiocarbon dated to 7720+/-110BP, which calibrates to circa 7000 BC. Similar sites in Britain and its dependencies are known only at Farnham in Surrey and this discovery gives an insight into communal activity and forward planning of the period. The nuts were harvested in a year and pollen analysis suggests that the hazel trees were all cut down at the same time. The scale of the activity, unparalleled elsewhere in Scotland, the pit was originally on a beach close to the shore, and there were two smaller stone-lined pits, whose function remains obscure, a hearth, and a second cluster of pits. There are a variety of ruined hill forts on the such as Dùn Cholla. The eighth century Riasg Buidhe Cross has been re-erected in the gardens of Colonsay House, St Cathans Chapel may date from the 14th century. The ruins of the Chapel of St. Mary are little more than foundations, in 1549 Dean Monro wrote that Colonsay was seven myle lange from the northeist to the southwest, with twa myle bredthe, ane fertile ile guid for quhit fishing. This ile is bruikit be ane gentle capitane, callit M’Duffyhe, during the 18th century the lairds of the island were Macneils, and included Archibald Macneil. Colonsay House was first built by the Mcneil family in 1722, since 1904 the house has been the property of the islands later owners, the Barons Strathcona. Colonsay is owned by Donald Howard, 4th Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal and Colonsay House is currently occupied by his eldest son, Alexander Howard and his family. In 2013 the Argyll and Bute Council threatened legal action against Alexander Howard over the state of the Rubh Aird Alanais beach following the significant removal of gravel leading to large holes, Howard infuriated island residents, by accusing them of removing gravel from a beach without permission. Locals said that innocent people had been labelled thieves and peasants and it was later discovered that the gravel had been removed by a builder working on behalf of one of the crofters. The islands population was 124 as recorded by the 2011 census an increase of nearly 15% since 2001 when there were 108 usual residents, during the same period Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702. Colonsays main settlement is Scalasaig on the east coast, recently there has been a growth of tourism as the mainstay of the islands economy, with numerous holiday cottages, many of them owned and managed by the Isle of Colonsay Estate
