Brother Isle
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- There is also a Brother Island in El Nido, Palawan in the Philippines.
Brother Isle (from the 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 about 40 ha in size.
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[edit] Geography and geology
The island's rock is "undifferentiated moine gneiss and quartzite." [1]
[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
- ^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh. Canongate.
[edit] External links
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