Brother Isle
| Brother Isle | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 Brother Isle
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| Brother Isle shown within Shetland | |
| OS grid reference | HU425815 |
| Names | |
| Norse name | breiðare øy |
| Meaning of name | broad beach island |
| Area and summit | |
| Area | 40 hectares (0.15 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 219= |
| Highest elevation | 25 metres (82 ft) |
| Population | |
| Population | 0 |
| Groupings | |
| Island group | Shetland |
| Local Authority | Shetland Islands |
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| References | [1][2][3] |
| If shown, area and population ranks are for all Scottish islands and all inhabited Scottish islands respectively. Population data is from 2001 census. | |
- There is also a Brother Island in El Nido, Palawan in the Philippines.
Brother Isle (Old Norse: breiðare øy meaning broad beach island) is a small, uninhabited island in Shetland, Scotland. It lies between the islands of Yell and Shetland Mainland. It is 40 hectares (0.15 sq mi) in size.
[edit] Geography and geology
The island's rock is "undifferentiated moine gneiss and quartzite."[2]
[edit] History
It is sometimes assumed that the "Brother" in the name refers to Culdees/papar who were frequent inhabitants of the smaller islands, however, in this case there is no apparent evidence for this claim, and it would appear to be merely folk etymology.
At only 40 hectares in size (about 1/6 of a sq. mile) and surrounded by tidal rips which make landing difficult, it would seem unlikely that the island has ever been inhabited. However, Brother Isle was inhabited until the 1820s, latterly by brothers with the surname Tulloch. This led to the mistaken assumption that the island's name referred to them.
In 2004, a lighthouse was built on the island.
[edit] References
- ^ 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
- ^ a b Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 1841954543.
- ^ Ordnance Survey. Get-a-map (Map). http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/getamap/.
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Coordinates: 60°30′54″N 1°13′40″W / 60.51489°N 1.22783°W
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