Lewis and Harris
| Gaelic name | Leòdhas is na Hearadh |
|---|---|
| Norse name | Ljóðhús ok Hérað |
| Meaning of name |
Old Norse: "Poet's House" + Hérað = "a type of administrative district" |
 Satellite photograph of Lewis and Harris |
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| Location | |
 Lewis and Harris
Lewis and Harris shown within the Outer Hebrides
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| OS grid reference | NB240256 |
| Coordinates | 58°15′00″N 6°40′01″W / 58.25°N 6.667°W |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | Outer Hebrides |
| Area | 217,898 hectares (841 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 1 |
| Highest elevation | Clisham 799 metres (2,621 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Council area | Comhairle nan Eilean Siar |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 21,031 |
| Population rank | 1 |
| Population density | 9.65/km2 (25.0/sq mi) |
| Largest settlement | Stornoway |
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| References | |
Old Norse:
Lewis and Harris (Scottish Gaelic: Leòdhas agus na Hearadh) in the Outer Hebrides make up the largest island in Scotland. The island is the third largest in the British Isles, after Great Britain and Ireland.
The northern part of the island is called Lewis, the southern is Harris and both are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The boundary between Lewis and Harris is where the island narrows between Loch Resort (Reasort, opposite Scarp) on the west and Loch Seaforth (Shìophoirt) on the east (north of the more obvious narrowing of the island at Tarbert).
The island does not have a common name in either English or Scottish Gaelic and is referred to as 'Lewis and Harris', 'Lewis with Harris', 'Harris with Lewis' etc. Rarely used is the collective name of the Long Island (Scottish Gaelic: an t-Eilean Fada), although this is normally applied to the entire Outer Hebrides.
Most of Harris is very hilly, with more than thirty peaks above 1,000 ft (300 m) high; the highest peak, Clisham, is a Corbett. It has an area of 841 square miles (2,178 km2) – slightly under one per cent of the area of Great Britain. It is 24 miles (39 km) from the nearest point of the mainland, from which it is separated by the Minch.
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