Staffa
United Kingdom /
Scotland /
Tobermory /
World
/ United Kingdom
/ Scotland
/ Tobermory
World / United Kingdom / Scotland
island, interesting place
Staffa is an island notable for its interlocking basalt columns which were formed by the cooling of lava from volcanic eruptions millions of years ago.
The columns are predominantly hexagonal in cross section, similar to those of Giant's Causeway in Ireland. The columnar basalt is overlaid with a mass of amorphous basalt forming the island's top layer.
The Norse named the island Staffa because the columns reminded them of the vertical log staves with which they built their houses.
In some places the sea has undermined the rock formations, carving out caverns. The largest of these caverns is Fingal's Cave, with a high ceiling and pillared walls that are often likened to the inside of a cathedral. Fingal's Cave famously inspired the composer Felix Mendelssohn to write his Hebrides Overture.
Among other famous visitors to Staffa were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the artist J M W Turner, and literary greats Keats, Wordsworth, Tennyson and Sir Walter Scott.
Staffa is uninhabited but hosts colonies of seabirds, including puffins.
The island lacks a genuine anchorage; landings are feasible only in calm conditions and in very small boats.
The columns are predominantly hexagonal in cross section, similar to those of Giant's Causeway in Ireland. The columnar basalt is overlaid with a mass of amorphous basalt forming the island's top layer.
The Norse named the island Staffa because the columns reminded them of the vertical log staves with which they built their houses.
In some places the sea has undermined the rock formations, carving out caverns. The largest of these caverns is Fingal's Cave, with a high ceiling and pillared walls that are often likened to the inside of a cathedral. Fingal's Cave famously inspired the composer Felix Mendelssohn to write his Hebrides Overture.
Among other famous visitors to Staffa were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the artist J M W Turner, and literary greats Keats, Wordsworth, Tennyson and Sir Walter Scott.
Staffa is uninhabited but hosts colonies of seabirds, including puffins.
The island lacks a genuine anchorage; landings are feasible only in calm conditions and in very small boats.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staffa
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 56°26'8"N 6°20'30"W
- Isle of Mull 25 km
- Jura 35 km
- Coll 36 km
- Tiree 42 km
- Knoydart 84 km
- South Uist 127 km
- Isle of Skye 140 km
- North Uist 158 km
- Harris 186 km
- Isle of Lewis 237 km
- Gometra 6.6 km
- Loch Frisa 21 km
- Tiree Airport (EGPU / TRE) 33 km
- Gulf of Corryvreckan 50 km
- Beinn an Òir, 785 m (2,575 ft) 63 km
- Dunes 63 km
- Loch Gruinart 65 km
- Loch Na Cille 67 km
- Loch Gorm 70 km
- Loch Indaal 76 km
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