List of Shetland islands


This is a list of Shetland islands in Scotland. The Shetland archipelago is located north of mainland Scotland and the capital Lerwick is almost equidistant from Bergen in Norway and Aberdeen in Scotland. The Shetland archipelago comprises about 300 islands and skerries, of which 16 are inhabited. In addition to the Shetland Mainland the larger islands are Unst, Yell and Fetlar.
The definition of an island used in this list is that it is land that is surrounded by seawater on a daily basis, but not necessarily at all stages of the tide, excluding human devices such as bridges and causeways. There are four islands joined to the Shetland Mainland by bridges, East Burra, West Burra, Trondra, and Muckle Roe. There is also a bridge from Housay to Bruray. Nowhere in Shetland is more than three miles from the sea. Mavis Grind is a narrow neck of land little more than 100 metres wide separating St. Magnus Bay and the Atlantic in the west from Sullom Voe and the North Sea in the east.
The geology of Shetland is complex with numerous faults and fold axes. These islands are the northern outpost of the Caledonian orogeny and there are outcrops of Lewisian, Dalradian and Moine metamorphic rocks with similar histories to their equivalents on the Scottish mainland. Similarly, there are also Old Red Sandstone deposits and granite intrusions. The most distinctive feature is the ultrabasic ophiolite, peridotite and gabbro on Unst and Fetlar, which is a remnant of the Iapetus Ocean floor. Much of the island's economy depends on the oil-bearing sediments in the surrounding seas. In the post-glacial epoch,, the islands experienced a tsunami up to 20 metres high caused by the Storegga Slides, an immense underwater landslip off the coast of Norway.
The islands all fall within the Shetland Islands Council local authority. They have been continuously inhabited since Neolithic times and experienced Norse rule for several centuries, the first written records being the Norse sagas. The excavations at Jarlshof near the southern end of the Mainland have provided archaeological evidence of life in Shetland since Bronze Age times and the annual Up Helly Aa fire festivals are a living reminder of Shetland's Viking past. The archipelago is exposed to wind and tide and there are numerous lighthouses as an aid to navigation. A small wind farm in Shetland recently achieved a world record of 58% capacity over the course of a year. The indigenous Shetland ponies are reputed for their strength and hardiness.

Main list

The Scalloway Islands are a small archipelago at the entrance to Weisdale Voe in the South West. The North Isles is the name given to the group including Yell, Unst and Fetlar. There are also numerous islands in Yell Sound between the Mainland and Yell and in St. Magnus Bay to the west, especially near the strait of Swarbacks Minn, but the number and diverse locations of the Shetland islands makes further classification difficult.
Records for the last date of settlement for the smaller uninhabited islands are incomplete, but all of the islands listed here would have been inhabited at some point during the Neolithic, Pictish or Norse periods.
'Ward' appears regularly as the name of the highest point on the island. The derivation of the name is from those high places being used for the lighting of warning beacons.
The total population of the archipelago was 21,988 in 2001 and had grown to 23,167 by the time of the 2011 census.
IslandLocationArea PopulationLast inhabitedHighest pointHeight
BaltaNorth Isles800Norse times or laterMuckle Head44
BiggaYell Sound7801930s34
BressayEast of Lerwick2805368Ward of Bressay226
Brother IsleYell Sound4001820s?25
BrurayOut Skerries5524Bruray Ward53
East BurraScalloway Islands51576Easter Heog81
Fair IsleOutlier76868Ward Hill217
FetlarNorth Isles407861Ward Hill158
FoulaOutlier126538The Sneug418
HascosayColgrave Sound, Yell27501850s30
HildasayScalloway Islands10801890s32
HousayOut Skerries16350North Hill53
LambaYell Sound430unknown35
Linga near Muckle RoeSwarbacks Minn700unknown69
LingaBluemull Sound, Yell450unknown26
MainlandMainland9687918765Ronas Hill450
MousaEast of Mainland18001841–60Mid Field55
Muckle RoeSwarbacks Minn1773130Mid Ward172
Isle of NossBressay34301930sNoup of Noss181
OxnaScalloway Islands6801901–1930Muckle Ward38
PapaScalloway Islands5901891–193032
Papa LittleSwarbacks Minn22601840sNorth Ward82
Papa StourSt Magnus Bay82815Virda Field87
SamphreyYell Sound6601841–188029
South HavraScalloway Islands590192342
TrondraScalloway Islands27513560
UnstNorth Isles12068632Saxa Vord284
Uyea, NorthmavineNorth Mainland450unknown70
Uyea, UnstNorth Isles20501931–60The Ward50
VailaGruting Voe3272East Ward95
VementrySwarbacks Minn37001840sMuckle Ward90
West BurraScalloway Islands743776Hill of Sandwick65
West LingaWhalsay1250late 18th century52
WhalsayWhalsay19701061Ward of Clett119
YellNorth Isles21211966Hill of Arisdale210

Smaller islets and skerries

This is a continuing list of uninhabited smaller Shetland islands, tidal islets only separated at higher stages of the tide, and skerries which are only exposed at lower stages of the tide. Many of these islets are called "Holm" from the Old Norse holmr, meaning a "small and rounded islet". "Swarta Skerry" – "black skerry" is also a common name, as are "Linga", meaning "heather island", "Taing" meaning "tongue" and "Flaesh" meaning "flat skerry". "Hog" and "calf" are used to indicate a small island, usually adjacent to a larger one.

Surrounding the mainland

a. Lunna Holm to The Keen. b. The Keen to Moul of Eswick. c. Moul of Eswick to Easter Rova Head by Lerwick. d. Easter Rova Head to St Ninian's Isle. e. St Ninian's Isle to Usta Ness. f. Usta Ness to Fora Ness. g. Fora Ness to Face of Neeans. h. Face of Neeans to Roe Sound. i. Roe Sound to The Faither. j. The Faither to Point of Fethaland. k. Point of Fethaland to Lunna Holm.

Surrounding other islands

In the vicinity of:
is connected to Mainland Shetland by the largest active tombolo in the United Kingdom. Although the 'isle' is greater than 40 hectares in size it fails to meet the definition of an island used in this list as it is only surrounded by water during occasional spring tides and storms.
Gluss Isle, similarly, is a peninsula connected to the mainland with a tombolo, and as such is not truly an island.
At spring tides The Huney also has a tombolo that connects it to Unst.

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