Eigg Mountain

Eigg Mountain is high plateau (between 225 and 300 metres above sea level), part of the highlands of Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Originally used as winter hunting grounds by the Mi’kmaq people, Eigg Mountain was settled and farmed in the early nineteenth century by immigrants from Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. The place takes its name from the Isle of Eigg in western Scotland where some of the first settlers originated. Farming conditions were difficult at this high elevation. Winters were longer and the snow-cover deeper than in lowland areas. The soil was rocky and thin. Crop failures were reported in the 1890s. The school was closed in 1914. The entire settlement was abandoned shortly thereafter. The history of Eigg Mountain settlement is documented on an interactive online map.

Eigg Mountain has been logged continuously since the eighteenth century, and logging is now the main economic activity there. People still hunt on Eigg Mountain as the Mi’kmaq did centuries ago; however the caribou are gone and the endangered mainland moose is now a protected species. In the summer people enjoy the area by hiking, cycling and exploring with all-terrain vehicles; in the winter by snowshoe, ski and snowmobile. A portion of Eigg Mountain was protected in 2003 as part of the Eigg Mountain-James River Wilderness Area.

Eigg

Eigg (/ɛɡ/; Scottish Gaelic: Eige, [ˈekʲə]) is one of the Small Isles, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) long from north to south, and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east to west. With an area of 12 square miles (31 km²), it is the second largest of the Small Isles after Rùm.

Notably, Eigg generates virtually 100% of its electricity using renewable energy.

Geography

The main settlement on Eigg is Cleadale, a fertile coastal plain in the north west. It is known for its quartz beach, called the "singing sands" (Tràigh a' Bhìgeil) on account of the squeaking noise it makes if walked on when dry.

The centre of the island is a moorland plateau, rising to 393 metres (1,289 ft) at An Sgurr, a dramatic stump of pitchstone, sheer on three sides. Walkers who complete the easy scramble to the top in good weather are rewarded with spectacular views all round of Mull, Coll, Muck, the Outer Hebrides, Rùm, Skye, and the mountains of Lochaber on the mainland.

Eigg (disambiguation)

Eigg can refer to: