Taransay
| Gaelic name |  Tarasaigh |
|---|---|
| Norse name | Taransey |
| Meaning of name | Old Norse for 'Taran's island' |
 Taransay in West Loch Tarbert |
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| Location | |
 Taransay
Taransay shown within the Outer Hebrides
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| OS grid reference | NB025013 |
| Coordinates | 57°54′00″N 7°01′01″W / 57.9°N 7.017°W |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | Lewis and Harris |
| Area | 1,475 hectares (5.7 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 38 |
| Highest elevation | Ben Raah 267 metres (876 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Council area | Na h-Eileanan Siar |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited since 1974 |
| Largest settlement | Paibeil |
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| References | |
Taransay (Scottish Gaelic: Tarasaigh, pronounced [ˈt̪aɾas̪aj]) is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It was the host of the British television series Castaway 2000. Uninhabited since 1974, except for holidaymakers, Taransay is the largest island of Scotland that lacks a permanent population. It is one hectare larger than Scarba, which is also uninhabited.
Taransay lies 1.9 miles (3.1 kilometres) from Harris, separated by a stretch of sea called the Sound of Taransay. It is also part of the civil parish of Harris and the Na h-Eileanan Siar council area of Scotland. Crossings between the two islands are dependent on calm weather and there are no harbours for large boats on either island. Taransay is 4 miles (6.4 kilometres) long, and, at its widest point, 3.1 miles (5.0 kilometres) across, with an area of 5.7 square miles (1,476.3 hectares)
Taransay is made up of two 750 feet (229 metres) heather-covered hills connected by a white sandy isthmus in the south of the island. It overlooks the bays of Luskyntyre and Seilibost bay to the east, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The bays are bordered with sandy beaches and machair dunes.
The area is mostly gneiss, with granite veins. The highest point of the island is Ben Raah (Beinn Ra) at 876 feet (267 metres).
The island hosts a variety of birds, but other vertebrate wildlife is limited to Red deer and mice. In 2003/04, the population of American mink on the island were the subject of an eradication programme in order to protect the rare groundnesting birds. Taransay is however, noted for its flora, with an abundance of wild flowers growing on the island's machair grasslands.
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Wikipedia