Seaforth Island

Seaforth Island

Gaelic name	Eilean Shìophoirt or Mulag
Norse name	Múli
Meaning of name	Norse for 'craggy ridge between fjords'; Gaelic for "island of Seaforth"
Loch Seaforth and Eilean Shìophoirt from the north with Clisham beyond
Location
Seaforth Island Seaforth Island shown within the Outer Hebrides
OS grid reference	NB207111
Coordinates	58°00′00″N 6°43′45″W / 58.00°N 06.7292°W / 58.00; -06.7292
Physical geography
Island group	Outer Hebrides
Area	273 hectares (1.05 sq mi)
Area rank	92
Highest elevation	217 metres (712 ft)
Administration
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Council area	Outer Hebrides
Demographics
Population	0
References

Seaforth Island (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Shìphoirt/Shìophoirt or Mulag) is an uninhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Unlike many other islands of the Outer Hebrides which are mainly surrounded by open sea, Seaforth Island lies in a narrow fjord-like sea loch named Loch Seaforth, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the open waters of The Minch. There are two different Gaelic names for the island. Mulag is from the Old Norse name Múli, which describes its geographical location, and the other is after the family of Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, who inherited the island in 1783.

The island has poor soil which only supports rough grazing.

There are no census records indicating inhabitation in the recent past, although the loch area was the subject of border disputes in the 19th century. In 1851 these were resolved by the unusual decision to allocate the whole of Seaforth Island to both counties, Ross-shire and Inverness-shire, which at the time controlled Lewis and Harris respectively. This situation continued until the 1975 county reorganisation.

The Island from Lewis and Harris

Shore of Seaforth Island

Coordinates: 58°00′04″N 6°43′45″W / 58.00102°N 6.72918°W / 58.00102; -6.72918