Treshnish Isles

Treshnish Isles

Gaelic name	Eileanan Treisinis
Meaning of name	unknown
Location
Treshnish Isles Treshnish Isles shown within Argyll and Bute
OS grid reference	NM278419
Coordinates	56°29′N 6°25′W / 56.49°N 6.42°W / 56.49; -6.42
Physical geography
Island group	Mull
Area	128 ha (316 acres)
Highest elevation	Cruachan, on Lunga 103 m (338 ft)
Administration
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Council area	Argyll and Bute
Demographics
Population	0
References

The Treshnish Isles is an archipelago of small islands and skerries, lying west of Mull, in Scotland. They are part of the Inner Hebrides. Trips to the Treshnish Isles run from Tobermory and Ardnamurchan in the summer months.

The archipelago stretches for roughly 7 kilometres (4 mi) from the island of Bac Beag in the south towards Cairn na Burgh Beag to the north east. The largest island in the group is Lunga, which is 7 kilometres (4 mi) west of Gometra, 6 kilometres (4 mi) southwest of Rubha' a' Chaoil on Mull, 12 kilometres (7 mi) south east of Coll, and 5 kilometres (3 mi) north west of Staffa.

Other larger islands in the group are Cairn na Burgh Mòr, Fladda and Bac Mòr. There are numerous smaller skerries, particularly north of Lunga. All the islands are of volcanic origin.

There are several possible duns on the islands of Iron Age origin. Little is known of the early history, although these prominent landmarks would have been significant waypoints for the Norse settlers during their conquest in the early years of the Kingdom of the Isles, which lasted from the 9th to the 13th centuries. There are remains on Lunga of a village of blackhouses abandoned in 1857

The Isles were purchased in 1938 by explorer and naturalist Col. Niall Rankin and they were sold to the Hebridean Trust in 2000. The Trust are guardians of the islands to protect them and the wildlife and to monitor and study the ecology and archaeology.