For those more familiar with Imperial measurement, that s 640 square miles - two square miles for each permanent resident. The Island stretches 65 kilometers from north to south and 40 kilometers across the widest axis. Mt Anglem, the highest point, rises to 980 metres, high enough for a snow cap in winter. Several other peaks on the mountain ridges which form the Island backbone top 800 metres. The 700 kilometers of coastline includes long golden sand beaches, separated by rocky granite headlands.
Rainforest cloaks the island to the waters edge.
Paterson Inlet, which all-but bisects the Island is 15 kilometers deep and an average width of 4 kilometers. It s deep water area of 55 square kilometers, like Scapa Flow in Orkney, would shelter the British fleet. Even names on the map, or in our one page phone book would be familiar to those from the northern isles. Nostalgic Scots surveyors included Argyll, Dundee, Eyre and Elgin in the street names and even gave us our own Ulva and Iona Islands in Paterson Inlet. Our first Post Office opened in 1873 on Ulva, with Orcadian Charles Traill as postmaster.