North Uist

North Uist (Scottish Gaelic: Uibhist a Tuath) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. North Uist is the tenth largest Scottish island, and the thirteenth largest island surrounding Great Britain. It has an area of 117 square miles (303 km2), slightly smaller than South Uist. North Uist is connected by causeways to Benbecula via Grimsay, to Berneray, and to Baleshare. With the exception of the south east, the island is very flat, and covered with a patchwork of peat bogs, low hills and lochs, with more than half the land being covered by water. Some of the lochs contain a mixture of fresh and tidal salt water, giving rise to some complex and unusual habitats. Loch Sgadabhagh is the largest loch by area on North Uist but Loch Obisary has about twice the volume of water. The northern part of the island is part of the South Lewis, Harris and North Uist National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland. References