The Rinns of Islay (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

: Na Roinn Ìleach; alternative English spelling Rhinns of Islay) is an area on the west of the island of

Islay Islay ( ; , ) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll and Bute just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's cap ...

in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides ( ; ) is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides compri ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

that is attached to the main body of the island by a narrow

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

towards its northern end. The main population centres are Port Charlotte and Portnahaven, based on the A847 that runs along its eastern coast. It is designated a

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

due to its importance for a number of breeding and wintering birds, particularly Greenland white-fronted goose and

chough A chough ( ) is any of two species of passerine birds that constitute the genus ''Pyrrhocorax'' of the Corvidae (crow) family. These are the red-billed chough (''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax'') and the Alpine chough (or yellow-billed chough) (''Pyr ...

. The significance of the area owes much to its wide variety of habitats including bog, moorland, dune grassland, maritime grassland, marsh and extensively-farmed agricultural land. The Rinns of Islay

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

is located on the island of

Orsay Orsay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. A fortifie ...

. The Rhinns complex, a deformed igneous complex that is considered to form the

basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...

to the Colonsay Group of metasedimentary rocks takes its name from the Rhinns of Islay.

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Special Protection Area designation

Northern Lighthouse Board
* Landforms of Islay Special Protection Areas in Scotland Ramsar sites in Scotland Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Islay and Jura Special Areas of Conservation in Scotland Geological type localities of Scotland Peninsulas of Scotland Works of Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) {{stratigraphy-stub

See also

References

External links