Talk:Staffa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There was a lot about this article that needed changing.
- The distances are imperial and (literally) miles out. If Staffa was only 5 miles from Oban, it would need to cut Mull in half!
- My map seems fairly sure that Staffa is basically due N of Iona, but I'm leaving that part for now.
- During the tourist season it is visited every weekday by boat from Oban. That's a long trip! I think the excursions from Oban are much less frequent than that. The main tourist boats sail from Dervaig, Ulva Ferry and Fionnphort.
- Corrected the gaelic The Herdsman name.
- A lot of the content on Fingal's Cave should probably go into that article, if it is going to exist at all.
- The author then seems to waver from a NPOV with a lovely artistic description of the island. I've left that in for now.
Finally, there were a lot of typo's in this. Was it OCR'ed or perhaps copied from a book? It has some relatively recent information, so I hope there isn't any Copyright issue.
==Cave Dimensions More thoughts (22/12/02):
- There are some really detailed measurements in this article. Did the author go with a measuring tape, or is it from an out of copyright book?
- Perhaps Fingal's Cave should be left here, with a #REDIRECT to Staffa put on Fingal's Cave.
Ideas?
--DWeir
Haswell-Smith (2004)'s measurements are used in the recent revision.Ben MacDui (Talk) 19:37, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Tufa, Tuff etc.
Could somebody check whether 'tufa' is correct? Tufa (q.v.) is sedimentary, whereas 'tuff' is igneous rock, and seems to me to be more likely on Staffa.
--PKnight
It is probably not tufa, which, to the best of my knowledge is not found anywhere in the Hebrides. There is a question as to whether it is tuff either. I have been unable to find a source which can verify the nature of this third and lowest layer. However, as the photograph clearly identifies it, the text remains. Access to: Bailey, E B & Anderson, E M 1925 ‘The geology of Staffa, Iona, and Western Mull’ (a description of Sheet 43 of the Geological Map), Mem Geol Surv Gt Brit Scot. would probably resolve the issue, but my library lacks it. Ben MacDui (Talk) 19:37, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
I am sure this is tuff. My father, Alastair de Watteville, owned Staffa in the 70's (and interestingly is also a direct descendent of previous owner Colin MacDonald of Boisdale - a coincidence we discovered only after buying the island) and has written and contributed to a couple of books on the subject: 'Staffa', part of the Island Series published by David & Charles PLC 1976 and 'The Island of Staffa: Its Astonishing Rock Formations Include World-renowned Fingal's Cave' published by Romsey Fine Art in 1993. I have copies of both books if you need any more information.
I also feel the text saying 'third layer of basaltic lava lacking a crystalline structure' is not quite correct. This is still a very much a crystalline basalt material, and does in fact still exhibit the broadly hexagonal structure but it does not follow the rigid columnar form of the mid layer.
Overall a GREAT improvement to the Staffa entry - well done.
Angusdew 16:00, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
I have at last found the time to honour your father's connection and work. I couldn't find a confirmation for the other book you mention. Is it a chapter in The Isle of Mull: Tranquillity and Spectacular Beauty in the Inner Hebrides (Island Tributes)? --Ben MacDui (Talk) 20:53, 23 January 2007 (UTC)
