Stac Biorach facts for kids
| Gaelic name | Stac Biorach |
|---|---|
| Meaning of name | "pointed stack" |
| OS grid reference | NA071013 |
| Coordinates | 57°49′44″N 8°37′19″W / 57.829°N 8.622°W |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | St Kilda |
| Highest elevation | 73 m (240 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Council area | Outer Hebrides |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
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Stac Biorach is a tall, pointed rock sticking out of the sea. It's found in the amazing St Kilda islands in Scotland. This stack is 73 meters (about 240 feet) high! It sits between two other islands, Hirta and Soay, in a spot called the "Sound of Soay." Its name, "Stac Biorach," means "the pointed stack" in Scottish Gaelic.
The History of Stac Biorach
Stac Biorach has never had people living on it all the time. But it was very important for the people who lived on St Kilda. They used the stack to collect sea birds and their eggs. This helped them get food and make a living.
A minister named Neil MacKenzie lived on St Kilda from 1830 to 1844. He saw the islanders collecting eggs from the stack. They used special baskets that could hold about 400 eggs!
Amazing Birdlife on the Stack
Just like the other islands in the St Kilda group, Stac Biorach is full of birds. It has a huge number of guillemots, which are a type of seabird. In fact, it has the biggest colony of guillemots in the whole St Kilda area.
Climbing Stac Biorach
People started climbing Stac Biorach for fun in the early 1880s. The first person from outside St Kilda to climb it was Richard Manliffe Barrington in 1890. He said it was the most dangerous climb he had ever done.
Today, if you want to climb anywhere in the St Kilda islands, you need special permission. This permission comes from the National Trust for Scotland, which looks after the islands. It is very rare for them to allow climbing on Stac Biorach because it is so difficult. Only a few very skilled climbers could ever make it to the top.
