The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1898-12-17
BRITAIN'S LoNELIEsT ISLE.
cance-Has Been visited but
Once or ,wice.

part of the British possessions Rockall
is situated, and, even though he be ii
well-informed man OF the world, he is
tolerably certain to reply: "Rockall?
Never heard Of it. Where in the world
is it?" Yet Rockall is practically, if
not in a strict scientific sense, por-
ton not only Of the British possessions,
but even of the British Isles themselves,
and the place has romantic interest
which is all its own. Rockall is q lone
ly pyramidal rock, some 70 feet in
height and $50 feet in circumference,
rising sheer out of the wild Atlantic
waves, about 1874 miles west-half-south
from St. Kilda, in the Outer Hebrides,
200 miles from the nearest point of the
Scottish mainland. and 260 miles north
west from the nearest point on the
Irish coast. More exactly, its position
at least, as nearly as this has been
ascertained-is latitude 81 degrees 80
minutes north, longitude 10 degrees AZ
minutes west. There is neither soil
upon it nor sandy beach round it, the
depth of water close up to it being 20 OF
30fathoms. A "rock," therefore, it must
be called rather than an island, or even
an islet; and, of all the rocks and
Islands, great and small, surrounding
our shores. it is at once the most re.
mote, the most desolate, the least
known, and in many respects the most
remarkable.
Not only has it never boosted hui
man inhabitant, but no holiday trippeI
or sportsman has ever desecrated its
shores, and only on one or two occa.
sions is it even known to have beer
landed upon. Only in the finest wealth
er, when the almost ceaseless swell Of
the Atlantic has subsidized for an hour
or two, is it possible to land upon it;
while in winter the ocean waves fal
overtop its summit. This summit car
only be reached, even when landing
has been effected, by the ascent on the
northeastern face of the rock, so pre-
cipitous are its sides.
Yet, isolated as Rockall is, it forms
nevertheless, the summit or peak of al
| extensive submarine plateau. known a!
| "Rockall Bank" which extends in ;
| northeasterly ard southwesterly direc
tion for about $50 miles, which has ;
breadth of about 40 miles, and abou
half of which is submerged to deptl
of less than hundred fathoms. Prob
ably within comparatively recent times
| Tin the geological sense) the create
part of this "bank" was exposed as DIR,
land, whichdisappeared. partly through
gradual subsistence and partly through
| the action Of the sea waves. Close I,
the main rock, and with deep water be
tween them, lies dangerous reef, eX
posed a low tide, known as Hazlewoot
| Rock; while mile and half southeas
| lies another similar rock known a
| Helen's Reef, from a vessel of tina
name whose wreck upon it first made i
known. That Rockall belongs, politi
cally speaking, to Britain is fac
never likely to be disputed for no
only does it lie nearer to the BritisI
Isles than to any other land, but non
except British fishermen have ever sys
tematically resorted thither to fish.
Yet Rockall is certainly no part of tn
British Isles, speaking strictly and il
a Photographed sense; for, while al
the other islands lying adjacent t
Britain, except the Faroes, lie wei
within what is known as the 100-fath
ON contour line, including even 81
Kilda, the nearest land, Rockall and tn
bank surrounding it are separated fror
Britain by sea giving soundings O
from LOO to 1000 fathoms-depth
which are truly oceanic and which In
dictate that the period when a dry Ian
communication existed between Roel
all and Britain (if, indeed, it ever di
SOY must have been immensely re
mote, even as the geologst reckon
time. That is to say, man with leg
100 fathoms long could easily wade on
to any other of the islands surround
ing Britain. but to get to Rockall h
would require legs is times as long
London Graphic.