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Stroma is an island off the northern coast of the mainland of Scotland. It is the most southerly of the islands in the Pentland Firth between the Orkney islands and Caithness, the northeasternmost part of the mainland. The name is from the Old Norse ''Straumr-øy'' meaning "island in the () stream".〔Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 336〕 The island's population fell from 375 people in 1901 to just 12 by 1961. The last native islanders left at the end of the following year, while Stroma's final abandonment came in 1997 when the lighthouse keepers and their families departed. Ancient stone structures testify to the presence of Stroma's earliest residents, while a Norse presence around 900–1,000 years ago is recorded in the ''Orkneyinga Saga''. It has been politically united with Caithness since at least the 15th century. Although Stroma lies only a few miles off the Scottish coast, the savage weather and ferociously strong tides of the Pentland Firth meant that the island's inhabitants were very isolated, causing them to be largely self-sufficient, trading agricultural produce and fish with the mainlanders. Most of the islanders were fishermen and crofters; some also worked as maritime pilots to guide vessels through the treacherous waters of the Pentland Firth. The tides and currents meant that shipwrecks were frequent—the most recent occurring in 1993—and salvage provided an additional though often illegal supplement to the islanders' incomes. A lighthouse was built on Stroma in 1890 and still operates under automation. Stroma is now abandoned, with the houses of its former inhabitants unoccupied and falling into ruin. Its population fell gradually through the first half of the 20th century as inhabitants drifted away to seek opportunities elsewhere, as economic problems and Stroma's isolation made life on the island increasingly unsupportable. From an all-time peak of 375 people in 1901, the population fell to just 12 by 1961 and the last islanders left at the end of the following year. The island is now owned by one of its former inhabitants, who uses it to graze cattle and sheep. ==Geography, geology, flora and fauna== Stroma is located in the Pentland Firth about northwest of John o' Groats on the mainland. The island divides the firth into two channels, the Inner Sound to the south and the Outer Sound to the north. It is mostly low-lying and flat, covering an area of around and rising to a height of at Cairn Hill in the southeast. It is oriented in a north-south direction, measuring about long by wide.〔 The island is ringed by cliffs that vary in height from around on the west coast to low cliffs with a narrow rocky foreshore elsewhere.〔Wilson (1935) p. 122〕 The eastern side of the island slopes downward in an easterly or southeasterly direction, with the angle of the slope increasing from around 3 degrees in the centre of the island to about 30 degrees on the east coast.〔Wilson (1935) p. 123〕 The bedrock of the island consists of flat layers of weathered Middle Old Red Sandstone, known as Rousay flags.〔 A six-foot band of the fine-grained stone used to be quarried on a small scale for use on the mainland as roofing material. It is similar in composition to the Mey Beds on the mainland, though in some places on Stroma it is replaced by beds of angular and rounded masses of sandstone in a nodular matrix, similar to the Ackergill Beds in Caithness. Only fragmentary fossil remains have been found; these include specimens of the extinct Devonian fish ''Dipterus'' and ''Coccosteus''.〔 Stroma is bisected by a fault which runs in a north-south direction through its centre,〔 intersected by another fault running in an east-northeast direction across the north of the island.〔 The soil on either side of the fault line is significantly different; the eastern and southern parts of Stroma are covered by fertile clay fed by bedrock minerals, while less fertile boggy ground predominates on the west side.〔 The heavily indented coastline has a circumference of about ,〔 punctuated by numerous geos or inlets created by the waves eroding the sea cliffs along fault lines. A partially collapsed sea cave called The Gloup is located in the northwest of the island. This feature is a deep rocky pit, filled with sea water.〔 It is located at the junction of the two fault lines and is connected to the sea by a subterranean passage long, created by erosion along the east-northeast fault.〔 The passage is said to have been used for smuggling; the islanders reportedly concealed illegal distilling from HM Customs and Excise by hiding the stills and alcohol in a cave within The Gloup, called "the Malt Barn", which was only accessible at low tide.〔〔Miller, James "A Brief History of Stroma" in Young (1992) p. 9〕 The flora and fauna of Stroma are similar to those of the mainland. The island is treeless; its vegetation consists primarily of grasses, heather and small flowers. Seals are plentiful along its shores and are sometimes found inland during the breeding season.〔 Both grey seals and harbour seals are present, with around 650 grey seal pups being born each year. Otters may also be present, as in other parts of mainland Caithness. The western cliffs are the site of colonies of terns, guillemots, fulmars and eider ducks.〔 The cliffs are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest within the North Caithness Cliffs Special Protection Area.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=North Caithness Cliffs )〕 The waters off Stroma support a number of cetacean species including minke whale, white-beaked dolphin and harbour porpoise.〔 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「Stroma, Scotland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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