Lunga, Treshnish Isles
{{Short description|Island in Scotland}}
{{distinguish|Lunga, Firth of Lorn}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox Scottish island
|Image=Isle of Lunga.jpg
|ImageCaption=Lunga viewed from across the water
|location_map=Scotland Argyll and Bute
|caption=Lunga shown within Argyll and Bute
|coordinates = {{coord|56.49|-6.42|display=inline}}
|GridReference=NM278419
|official_name=Lunga
|celtic name=Lunga
|norse name=langr-øy
|meaning of name="(long)ship island", from Norse
|area= {{cvt|81|ha|sqmi|frac=8}}
|area rank= 161
|highest elevation=Cruachan, {{cvt|103|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
|Population=0
|population rank=
|main settlement=
|island group=Treshnish Isles
|local authority=Argyll and Bute
|references=2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland{{Haswell-Smith}}[http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ Ordnance Survey]{{cite web
|url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/language/gaelic/pdfs/placenamesK-O.pdf
|title=Placenames
|author=Iain Mac an Tàilleir
|publisher=Pàrlamaid na h-Alba
|accessdate=2007-07-28
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926234316/http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/language/gaelic/pdfs/placenamesK-O.pdf
|archivedate=2011-09-26
}}
The island of Lunga is the largest of the Treshnish Isles in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Isles are part of the Loch Na Keal National Scenic Area.
History
Lunga, which is of volcanic origin, has been described as 'a green jewel in a peacock sea'. It was inhabited until the 19th century, and still bears the remains of blackhouses. The remains of the ruined village, abandoned in 1857, lie in the northeastern part of the island.{{cite web| url=http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1544.html | title=Overview of Lunga| publisher=Gazetteer for Scotland| accessdate=2007-07-28}}
Wildlife
File:Harp Rock, Lunga (Chris Wood).jpg
As one of the Treshnish Isles, Lunga is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation.{{cite web| url=https://www.wildlochaber.com/north-argyll/wildlife/treshnish-isles | title=Treshnish Isles| publisher=Wild About Lochaber| accessdate=2020-05-22}} These designations reflect the importance of the island for its marine life, including the grey seals that inhabit the waters around it, and for its breeding colonies of seabirds, including storm-petrels, kittiwakes, Manx shearwaters, guillemot, puffin, European shag and razorbills. (The birds also breed on the Harp Rock, a sea stack separated from Lunga by a narrow gut.) In addition, barnacle geese winter on the island.
Many rare and endangered plants are also native to Lunga, including primrose, birdsfoot trefoil, orchids, sea campion, sea thrift, sea pinks, yellow flags, tormentil and oyster plant.
In summer, tourist boats visit Lunga from Ulva Ferry, Tiree, Tobermory, Iona and Ardnamurchan. The island's thousands of breeding puffins, who allow visitors to approach to within a few feet of them, are the island's main attraction.
File:Nesting Puffin on Lunga, Treshnish Isles (Side On Profile).jpg
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Footnotes
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External links
{{commons category|Lunga, Treshnish Isles}}
{{Treshnish Isles}}
{{Hebrides}}
{{Portal bar|Scotland}}
{{coord|56|29|27|N|6|25|18|W|display=title|type:isle_region:GB}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lunga, Treshnish Isles}}
Category:Uninhabited islands of Argyll and Bute
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