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St Magnus Bay is a large coastal feature in the north-west of Mainland Shetland, Scotland. Roughly circular in shape with a diameter of about , it is open to the North Atlantic Ocean to the west. The indented coastline to the north, south and east between Esha Ness in the north and the Ness of Melby in the south contains numerous bays, firths and voes and there are several islands around the perimeter. The waters of the bay are up to deep〔(“St Magnus Bay” ). Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 26 September 2013.〕 and may have been the site of a substantial meteor impact. The geology of the area is complex and there are numerous caves and cliffs around the coastline, which has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The sheltered inner waters of the bay have provided a refuge for vessels in times of both peace and war. Shetland was part of the Scandinavian world from the late first millennium until 1469, when the islands became transferred to Scotland and as a result most of the place names around the bay and some of its present day culture are of Norse origin.〔Nicolson (1972) pp. 37, 45〕 ==Inlets and islands== The land that is furthest southwest in St Magnus Bay is Ve Skerries, a reef that is a hazard to shipping.〔Haswell-Smith p. 450〕 southwest from there is the inhabited island of Papa Stour with its outliers Brei Holm, Fogla Skerry and Maiden Stack. Forewick Holm, and Holm of Melby lie in the Sound of Papa that separates Papa Stour from the mainland parish of Walls and Sandness. Further east is the narrow Voe of Snaraness and then West Burra Firth containing the ruins of the Broch of West Burrafirth on a small islet. North of West Burra Firth are Isle of West Burrafirth and The Heag. Further east still the isles of Vementry, Gruna and Linga lie at the head of the sinuous Brindister Voe, which itself subdivides into Mo Wick and The Vadills and then there are Voe of Clousta and North Voe of Clousta. Cribba Sound and Uyea Sound separate Vementry from mainland Sandsting and to the north, across the strait of Swarbacks Minn, is Muckle Roe, the largest of the islands in St Magnus Bay at over . Further east and separated from the mainland by waters of The Rona, is Papa Little, lying in a "pivotal position"〔Waugh (2007) p. 541〕 at the entrance to Aith Voe, which stretches south for to the sheltered hamlet of Aith in the southeast corner of the greater bay. Further north are Gon Firth and Olna Firth, at the entrance to which is another and larger island called Linga. The village of Brae lies at the head of Busta Voe. The narrow Roe Sound separates Muckle Roe from mainland Delting and further north is the little voe of Minn, which narrows to only a few metres, then broadens again into a bay that contains the islet of Holm of Culsetter and ends at the narrow isthmus of Mavis Grind. This narrow neck of land joins the Northmavine peninsula to the rest of the Mainland Shetland and separates St Magnus By from Sullom Voe, an arm of the North Sea by only just over at its narrowest point.〔〔Nicolson (1972) p. 20〕 The islands of Egilsay and The Hog lie at the entrance to Mangaster Voe and further north still are Isle of Gunnister and Isle of Nibon near Gunnister Voe. The most northerly waters of the bay are reached at the head of Ura Firth in Northmavine, of which Hamar Voe is an extension to the east. To the west is the long peninsula of Hillswick, which is "a headland shaped for all the world like a bunch of grapes hanging from a vine"〔(“Hillswick” ). Undiscovered Scotland. Retrieved 26 September 2013.〕 and the tiny Isle of Westerhouse, then the bays of Sand Wick, Brae Wick and Tang Wick. Esha Ness Lighthouse is close to the north west extremity of the bay and to the south there are the islands of Dore Holm, Isle of Stenness and Skerry of Eshaness. The power of the ocean storms is displayed at Grind o Da Navir, a large amphitheatre just north of the Eshaness light that opens out through a breach in the cliffs. Here, the waves have thrown rocks of up to high over above the sea.〔(“Grind o' Da Navir,” ). Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 28 September 2013.〕 Muckle Roe and Esha Ness are part of the Shetland National Scenic Area.〔("National Scenic Areas" ). SNH. Retrieved 30 March 2011.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St Magnus Bay」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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