

Geology īute straddles the divide between highland and lowland Scotland with the Highland Boundary Fault cutting NNE-SSW through the island between Rothesay Bay and Scalpsie Bay. North Bute forms part of the Kyles of Bute National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland. The crossing is one of the shortest, less than 300 metres (330 yd), and takes only a few minutes but is busy because many tourists prefer the scenic route to the island. The northern part of the island is more sparsely populated, and the ferry terminal at Rhubodach connects the island to the mainland at Colintraive by the smaller of the island's two ferries. In the north, Bute is separated from the Cowal peninsula by the Kyles of Bute. Ninian's Bay, and Kildavanan on Ettrick Bay. Hamlets on the western side of the island include Straad, around St. The western side of Bute is known for its beaches, many of which enjoy fine views over the Sound of Bute towards Arran and Bute's smaller satellite island Inchmarnock. Loch Fad is Bute's largest body of freshwater and runs along the fault line.
The centre of the island contains most of the cultivated land, while the island's most rugged terrain is found in the far south around Glen Callum. The highest point is Windy Hill at 278 metres (912 ft). The interior of the island is hilly, though not mountainous, with conifer plantations and some uncultivated land, particularly in the north. To its north is the coastal village of Port Bannatyne hamlets on the island include Ascog, Kilchattan Bay, and Kingarth. The only town on the island, Rothesay, ( NS087645) is linked by ferry to the mainland. To the west of Bute is the island of Inchmarnock and to the east are The Cumbraes.īute lies in the Firth of Clyde.

The island was also known during the Viking era as Rothesay, possibly referring to the personal name Roth or Roderick and the Old Norse suffix ey ("island"). There is no likely derivation from Ptolemy's Ebudae. Other possible derivations include Brittonic budh ("corn"), "victory", St Brendan, or both, his monastic cell. This reference to beacon fires may date from the Viking period, when the island was probably known to the Norse as Bót.
#Isale ebutte mac#
Watson and Mac an Tàilleir support a derivation from Old Irish bót ("fire"), perhaps in reference to signal fires. Bute's resident population was 6,498 in 2011, a decline of just over 10% from the figure of 7,228 recorded in 2001 against a background of Scottish island populations as a whole growing by 4% to 103,702 for the same period. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault.įormerly a constituent island of the larger County of Bute, it is now part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. The Isle of Bute ( Scots: Buit Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Bhòid or An t-Eilean Bòdach), known as Bute ( / b juː t/), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. The buttes of Monument Valley have been the setting for many movies and television series, from Forrest Gump to Easy Rider.Isle of Bute shown within Argyll and Buteĥ5☄9′26″N 05☀6′39″W / 55.82389°N 5.11083°W / 55.82389 -5.11083 states of Utah and Arizona, has the most famous collection of buttes in the world. Debris that falls to the side of buttes is called scree or talus.īuttes usually form in arid regions, such as those in Mexico and the southwestern United States. Buttes slowly become slender spires.Įventually, even the caprock falls prey to severe weathering and erosion.

Caprock protects the more vulnerable rock beneath it. Weathering and erosion, most often by wind and rainwater, slowly erode the softer rock surrounding the caprock. As a result, the formations stay about the same height as the original plateau or mesa. The hard top layers of buttes, called caprock, resist weathering and erosion. Most geographers say a butte is taller than it is wide, while a mesa is a much larger, slightly less elevated feature.īuttes are created as streams slowly cut through a mesa or plateau. In fact, the only difference between a mesa and a butte is its size. Buttes were created through the process of erosion, the gradual wearing away of earth by water, wind, and ice.īuttes were once part of flat, elevated areas of land known as mesas or plateaus. Buttes are tall, flat-topped, steep-sided towers of rock.
