Muckle Green Holm is an uninhabited island in the North Isles of the Orkney archipelago in Scotland. It is roughly 28 hectares (0.11 sq mi) in extent and rises to 28 metres (92 ft) above sea level, the summit having a triangulation pillar.
Scottish Gaelic name | Unknown |
---|---|
Old Norse name | Hellisey |
Meaning of name | Mixture of Scots and Old Norse meaning 'large green small round island'. |
Muckle Green Holm seen from the north-west | |
Location | |
OS grid reference | HY525272 |
Coordinates | 59°08′N 2°50′W / 59.13°N 2.83°W |
Physical geography | |
Island group | Orkney |
Area | 28 hectares (0.11 sq mi)[1] |
Highest elevation | 28 m |
Administration | |
Council area | Orkney Islands |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Demographics | |
Population | 0 |
References | [2][3] |
Name
edit'Muckle' is Scots for 'big' or 'large'; 'holm' is from the Old Norse holmr, a small and rounded islet.[4]
Geography
editTo the south lies Little Green Holm, and between the two is the Sound of Green Holms. Eastward is a strait called Fall of Warness between Muckle Green Holm and the much larger island of Eday.
Muckle Green Holm has a great cormorant colony and a population of European otters.[2]
Tidal power
editThe Fall of Warness has strong tidal currents suitable for tidal power.
Starting in 2007,[5] the European Marine Energy Centre installed tidal power testing equipment.[6]
In 2021, Orbital Marine Power installed a tidal turbine called Orbital O2 that supplies 2MW to the electrical grid.
See also
editNotes and references
edit- ^ "Rick Livingstone’s Tables of the Islands of Scotland" (pdf) Argyll Yacht Charters. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
- ^ a b Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
- ^ Ordnance Survey
- ^ Waugh, Doreen J., Orkney Place-names in Omand, Donald (ed.) (2003) The Orkney Book. Edinburgh, Birlinn. Page 119
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20070815000000*/http://www.emec.org.uk/
- ^ "EMEC". Retrieved 3 February 2007.
External links
edit