Dubh Artach


(Dhu Heartach)

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Dhuheartach, a rocky basaltic islet of Argyllshire, 15½ miles SW of Iona. Lying fully exposed to the Atlantic, it is 240 feet long, 130 broad, and 35 high, and was surmounted in 1867-72 by a lighthouse rising 143 feet above high-water level. The lighthouse is a parabolic frustum, and was built of granite quarried and dressed at Carraid, on the shore of the Sound of Iona, and landed with great difficulty on the rock. Only 27 days in 1867,38 days in 1868,59 days in 1869, and 62 days in 1870 were sufficiently calm to permit the landing of the materials. The light, which is visible for 18½ nautical miles, is fixed white, except between S by W ½ W, and W ½ N, where it is fixed red. See the Builder for Feb. 2,1872, and May 6,1876.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer

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