Langaigh in the Sound of Harris - geograph

The Sound of Harris () is a channel between the islands of Harris and

North Uist North Uist (; ) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist are described as one isla ...

in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

of Scotland.

Geography

Approximately in width, the Sound of Harris provides the main sea passage through the Hebridean

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

, from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to The Minch. There are many islands and numerous reefs in the Sound, the largest being Berneray, Pabbay, Ensay and Killegray. It is part of the South Lewis, Harris and North Uist National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland."National Scenic Areas"
. SNH. Retrieved 30 Mar 2011.

Ferry

Since 1996, a vehicle ferry links Leverburgh, Harris to Berneray, itself connected by

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

to North Uist. Until the Berneray Causeway opened, the ferry landed at Otternish. The service is operated by

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne (), in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands. It is a subsid ...

and was provided by until 2003, when she was replaced by the much larger, . A buoyed route is marked to ensure the ferry's safe passage. The MCA require that the vessel only proceed if the next two marker buoys are visible.

Footnotes

Harris Landforms of the Outer Hebrides Uist Harris, Outer Hebrides {{WesternIsles-geo-stub