Torran Rocks facts for kids
| Gaelic name | Na Torrain |
|---|---|
| Meaning of name | "loud murmering or thunder" |
| OS grid reference | NM266137 |
| Coordinates | 56°14′13″N 6°24′47″W / 56.237°N 6.413°W |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | Mull |
| Highest elevation | c. 10 m (33 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Council area | Argyll and Bute |
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The Torran Rocks are a group of small islands and skerries located in Scotland. A skerry is a very small, rocky island. These rocks are found between the larger islands of Mull and Colonsay. They are known for being a dangerous area for ships.
Contents
What are the Torran Rocks?
The Torran Rocks are made up of many small islands and rocky outcrops. Some of the main rocks include Dearg Sgeir, MacPhail's Anvil, Na Torrain, Torran Sgoilte, and Torr an t-Saothaid. There are also many others, like Sgeir Dhoirbh, also called Otter Rock.
These rocks cover an area of about 25 square kilometers (10 square miles). They are located about 3 kilometers (2 miles) south of Erraid, a tidal island, and the Ross of Mull. The biggest islets, Na Torrain, rise 10 meters (33 feet) or more above the sea. They can be up to 150 meters (490 feet) long.
How were the Torran Rocks formed?
The rocks here are very old. They are made from different types of hard rock like orthogneiss and monzogranite. These rocks were formed during a time called the Caledonian orogeny. This was a period when mountains were built, happening from the late Silurian to early Devonian periods. The rocks are part of a larger rock formation called the Ross of Mull pluton.
Why are the Torran Rocks dangerous for ships?
The Torran Rocks are very risky for ships to navigate. They are spread out over a wide area, often hidden just below the water's surface. This makes them hard to see until it's too late.
How many shipwrecks happened here?
Because of how dangerous these rocks are, many ships have been wrecked here. Between 1800 and 1854, 30 ships were lost on the Torrans. More than 50 lives were lost in these accidents. In one terrible storm on December 30-31, 1865, an amazing 24 ships were wrecked in this area.
To help ships avoid these dangers, a lighthouse was built. The Dubh Artach lighthouse was constructed between 1867 and 1872. It stands about 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of the Torran Rocks.
What do people say about the Torran Rocks?
Writer Hamish Haswell-Smith described the rocks as "scattered over a wide area like dragon's teeth." He said they "lurk menacingly just beneath the surface." Another writer, Nicholson (1995), called them "4½ miles of jumbled granite teeth." He noted that the size and confusing nature of this reef caused countless ships to be lost. Only small boats can safely travel through these reefs.
The Torran Rocks in Literature
The Torran Rocks are not just a danger to ships; they are also famous in literature. They are featured in the well-known novel Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson.
What happens in Kidnapped?
In the story, the main characters, Alan Breck Stewart and David Balfour, are shipwrecked in this "stoneyard." David Balfour, the hero, then gets stuck on the nearby island of Erraid for a while.
Robert Louis Stevenson knew this area very well. His father, Thomas, was the person who designed the Dubh Artach lighthouse. Stevenson wrote about the rocks, calling them a "black brotherhood." He described how the Iona Steamers, which carried tourists to Iona and Staffa, had to carefully find their way through these rocks. He noted that tourists could see "upwards of 3 miles of ocean thickly sown with these fatal rocks."
The book Kidnapped itself describes the danger:
Altogether it was no such ill night to keep the seas in; and I had begun to wonder what it was that sat so heavily upon the captain, when the brig rising suddenly on the top of a high swell, he pointed and cried to us to look. Away on the lee bow, a thing like a fountain rose out of the moonlit sea, and immediately after we heard a low sound of roaring.
"What do ye call that?" asked the captain, gloomily.
"The sea breaking on a reef," said Alan. "And now ye ken where it is; and what better would ye have?"
"Ay," said Hoseason, "if it was the only one."
And sure enough, just as he spoke there came a second fountain farther to the south.
"There!" said Hoseason. "Ye see for yourself. If I had kent of these reefs, if I had had a chart, or if Shuan had been spared, it's not sixty guineas, no, nor six hundred, would have made me risk my brig in sic a stoneyard! But you, sir, that was to pilot us, have ye never a word?"
"I'm thinking," said Alan, "these'll be what they call the Torran Rocks."
"Are there many of them?" says the captain.
"Truly, sir, I am nae pilot," said Alan; "but it sticks in my mind there are 10 miles of them."
Mr. Riach and the captain looked at each other.
"There's a way through them, I suppose?" said the captain.
"Doubtless," said Alan, "but where? But it somehow runs in my mind once more that it is clearer under the land."
What does "Torran Rocks" mean?
The name "Torran Rocks" comes from the Gaelic language. Haswell-Smith (2004) says the name means "loud murmuring or thunder." However, in a different meaning, Mac an Tàilleir describes Torrain as meaning "hillocks," which are small hills.
See also
In Spanish: Torran Rocks para niños
