St Magnus Bay
(Saint Magnus Bay)

A large circular bay, some 12 miles (19 km) in diameter and up to 165m (541 feet) in depth, lying on the west coast of the Shetland mainland, St. Magnus' Bay encloses a substantial body of water between Esha Ness in the north and the Ness of Melby in the south. The island of Papa Stour lies on the south side of its entrance, whilst other significant islands within the bay include Muckle Roe, Papa Little and Vementry. It has been suggested that the bay may have formed as a meteor impact crater some 30 million years ago.

Use the tabs on the right of this page to see other parts of this entry

©2013 The Editors of The Gazetteer for Scotland
Supported by: The Robertson Trust,  The Royal Scottish Geographical Society,
  School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh.