South Uist
Sign in to saveisland of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK
Key facts
- Scottish gaelic name
- Uibhist a Deas
- Scots name
- Sooth Uist
- Meaning of name
- Unknown
- Os grid reference
- NF786343
- Coordinates
- 57°16′00″N 7°19′00″W / 57.2667°N 7.3167°W / 57.2667; -7.3167
- Island group
- Uist & Barra
- Area
- 32,026 hectares (124 sq mi)
- Highest elevation
- Beinn Mhòr 620 metres (2,030 ft)
- Council area
- Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Country
- Scotland
- Sovereign state
- United Kingdom
- Population
- 1,650
- Population density
- 5.15 people/km
- Largest settlement
- Lochboisdale
via Wikipedia infobox
~29 min read
Encyclopedic overview
South Uist (Scottish Gaelic: Uibhist a Deas, [ˈɯ.ɪʃtʲ ə ˈtʲes̪] ; Scots: Sooth Uist) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2022 census it had a usually resident population of 1,650, a decrease of 104 since 2011. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the last remaining strongholds of the Gaelic language in Scotland. South Uist's inhabitants are known in Gaelic as Deasaich (Southerners). The population is about 90% Roman Catholic.
The island is home to a nature reserve and a number of sites of archaeological interest, including the only location in the British Isles where prehistoric mummies have been found. In the northwest, there is a missile testing range. In 2006 South Uist, together with neighbouring Benbecula and Eriskay, was involved in Scotland's biggest-ever community land buyout by Stòras Uibhist. The group also owns the "biggest community wind farm in Scotland", Lochcarnan, on South Uist which opened in 2013.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “South Uist” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
On the map
3 mapped locations