Rockall
Also known as Rockall islet, Rockall island
Rockall () is a , uninhabitable granite islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is west of Soay, St Kilda, Scotland; north-west of Tory Island, Ireland; and south of Iceland. The nearest permanently inhabited place is in North Uist, east in Scotland's Outer Hebrides.
Key facts
- Islands.name
- Rockall
- Islands.image_name
- File:Rockall - geograph.org.uk - 1048822.jpg
- Islands.image_caption
- Rockall's south and east faces, November 2008
- Islands.image_map
- Rockall topographic location map-en.svg
- Islands.map_caption
- Topographic map centred on Rockall
- Islands.location
- North-east Atlantic
- Islands.grid_reference
- MC035165
- Islands.elevation_m
- 17.15
- Islands.area_m2
- 784.3
- Islands.population
- 0
- Islands.country
- United Kingdom
- Islands.country_admin_divisions_title
- Country
Article
36 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Location
- History
- Earliest mentions
- Shipping disasters
- Recorded visits to Rockall
- HMS Endymion – Rockall's first landing
- 19th-century surveying and scientific visits
- British annexation
- Deploying an all-round light beacon
- Tom McClean stays 40 days solo
- The first female landings – Sue Hiscock and Christine Howson
- Greenpeace visits and a 42-day record
- Radio hams
- Nick Hancock stays 45 days solo
- Rigid inflatable boat landing
- Cam Cameron rescue after 30 days
- Circumnavigations
- Geography
- Dimensions
- Hall's Ledge and other features
- Helen's Reef and other surrounding features
- Climate and weather
- Geology
- Ecology
- Discovery of new species
- Ownership
- Economic background
- 20th century
- 21st century
- In popular culture
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Rockall () is a , uninhabitable granite islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is west of Soay, St Kilda, Scotland; north-west of Tory Island, Ireland; and south of Iceland. The nearest permanently inhabited place is in North Uist, east in Scotland's Outer Hebrides.
The granite rock from which Rockall is comprised formed during the Paleogene period, by magmatism as part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province. Rockall, Hasselwood Rock, 200 metres north, and the skerries of Helen's Reef two kilometers to the northeast are the only emergent parts of the Rockall Plateau. Twenty-nine-metre waves just east of Rockall were reported in 2006 as the largest ever recorded by scientific instruments in the open ocean. Rockall's first named geographic location and only occupiable area is Hall's Ledge.
Gallery (44)
On the map
6 mapped locations
Connections
Categories
Accuracy disputes from February 2026Extreme points of the United KingdomGeological type localitiesGreenpeace campaignsIndividual rocksIslands of the North Atlantic OceanMicronations in EuropeRockallSeabird coloniesShipping Forecast areasSites of Special Scientific Interest in Western Isles SouthSkerries of Scotland