View source for Skerry

{{Short description|A rocky island smaller than an islet}}
{{About|the physical feature|a list of the various islands and island groups with ''skerry'' or ''skerries'' as part of their name}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2009}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Skerry in shallow water.jpg|thumb|right|Skerry outside Krøttøy in [[Harstad]] municipality, [[Norway]]]]
[[File:Skerries which are part of the Åland Islands.jpg|thumb|Skerries which are part of [[Åland]], [[Finland]]]]
[[File:Past a skerry, off Garibali, Oregon.webm|thumb|right|Passing a skerry off [[Garibaldi, Oregon]], United States]]
A '''skerry''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|ɛr|i}} {{Respelling|SKEHRR|ee}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=SKERRY definition and meaning |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/skerry |website=Collins English Dictionary}}</ref> is a small rocky [[island]], or [[islet]], usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky [[reef]]. A skerry can also be called a low [[stack (geology)|sea stack]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Markes E. |last2=Webb |first2=Gregory E. |title=Outer Rocky Shores of the Mowanbini Archipelago, Devonian Reef Complex, Canning Basin, Western Australia |journal=The Journal of Geology |date=1 September 2007 |volume=115 |issue=5 |pages=583–600 |doi=10.1086/519779 |bibcode=2007JG....115..583J |s2cid=129190899 |url=https://eprints.qut.edu.au/14230/1/14230.pdf }}</ref>
A skerry may have vegetative life such as [[moss]] and small, hardy grasses. They are often used as resting places by animals such as [[Pinniped|seals]] and [[seabird|birds]].
==Etymology==
The term ''skerry'' is derived from the [[Old Norse]] ''{{Lang|non|sker}}'', which means a small rocky island in the sea (which in turn derives from the [[Proto-Indo-European]] root *''sker''-, "cut", in the sense of a rock cut off from the land).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/roots.aspx?type=Indo-European&root=sker-|title = Indo-European root sker-}}</ref> The Old Norse term ''{{Lang|non|sker}}'' was brought into the English language via the [[Scots language]] word spelled {{Lang|sco|skerrie}} or {{Lang|sco|skerry}}. It is a [[cognate]] of the [[Scandinavian language]]s' words for ''skerry'' – [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], {{langx|fo|sker}}, {{langx|da|skær}}, {{langx|sv|skär}}, {{langx|no|skjær / skjer}}, found also in {{langx|de|Schäre}}, {{langx|fi|kari}}, {{langx|et|skäär}}, {{langx|lv|šēra}}, {{langx|lt|šcheras}} and {{langx|ru|шхеры}} ({{Lang|ru-latn|shkhery}}). In [[Scottish Gaelic]], it appears as ''{{Lang|gd|sgeir}}'', e.g. [[Sula Sgeir]], in [[Irish language|Irish]] as ''{{lang|ga|sceir}},'' in [[Welsh language|Welsh]] as ''{{Lang|cy|sgeri}},'' and in [[Manx language|Manx]] as ''{{Lang|gv|skeyr}}.''
==Formation==
Skerries are most commonly formed at the outlet of [[fjord]]s where submerged glacially formed [[valleys]] at right angles to the [[coast]] join with other cross valleys in a complex array. In some places near the seaward margins of fjorded areas, the ice-scoured [[Channel (geography)|channels]] are so numerous and varied in direction that the rocky coast is divided into thousands of island blocks, some large and mountainous, while others are merely rocky points or rock [[reef]]s that menace navigation.
==Examples==
[[File:Loch Uisgebhagh.jpg|thumb|Islets and skerries in Loch Uisgebhagh, east of [[Benbecula]], [[Outer Hebrides]]]]
The island fringe of Norway is such a group of glacially formed skerries, called a ''{{Lang|no|skjærgård}}'' (sometimes translated into English as archipelago, but specifically one near the coast of the mainland). Many of the cross fjords are so arranged that they parallel the coast and provide a protected channel behind an almost unbroken succession of rocky islands and skerries. By this channel one can travel through a protected passage almost the entire {{Convert|1,600|km|mi|abbr=on|sp=us|sigfig=1}} route from [[Stavanger]] to [[North Cape, Norway|North Cape]], Norway. The [[Blindleia]] is a skerry-protected waterway that starts near [[Kristiansand]] in southern [[Norway]] and continues past [[Lillesand]].
The [[Inside Passage]] provides a similar route from [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], to [[Skagway, Alaska|Skagway]], [[Alaska]], United States. Another such skerry-protected passage extends from the [[Straits of Magellan]] north for {{convert|800|km|mi|abbr=on}} along the west coast of the South American continent.
The [[Sweden|Swedish]] coast along [[Bohuslän]] is likewise guarded by skerries. Even the east coast of Sweden, in the [[Baltic Sea]], has many big {{Lang|sv|skärgårdar}} (archipelagos), notably [[Stockholm archipelago|Stockholm Archipelago]].
The southwestern coast of [[Finland]] also has a great many skerries; so many, in fact, that they form an [[Archipelago|archipelago]]. This area is experiencing [[post-glacial rebound]] that connects the rising islands as they break sea level, revealing till deposits and eventually clay bottoms. The skerries exist as small rocky islands before uplift of adjacent terrain changes the classification of this landform into a [[tombolo]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tolvanen |first1=Harri |last2=Numminen |first2=Samu |last3=Kalliola |first3=Risto |title=Spatial Distribution and Dynamics of Special Shore-Forms (Tombolos, Flads and Glo-lakes) in an Uplifting Archipelago of the Baltic Sea |journal=Journal of Coastal Research |date=1 January 2004 |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=234–243 |doi=10.2112/1551-5036(2004)20[234:SDADOS]2.0.CO;2 |jstor=4299279 |s2cid=130519270 }}</ref>
In the [[Russian Federation]], the best examples are the [[Minina Skerries]], located in the [[Kara Sea]], in the western shores of the [[Taymyr Peninsula]], and the [[Sumsky Skerries]], located in the [[White Sea]].
The United Kingdom has a large number of skerries including [[Staple Island]] (an outer [[Farne Islands|Farne Island]]) in England; a small rocky outcrop near the [[Fowlsheugh]] in northeast Scotland; numerous reefs in the [[Hebrides]] such as [[Dubh Artach]] and [[Skerryvore]]; and [[The Skerries, Northern Ireland|The Skerries]], located off the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland.
[[Skerries, Dublin|Skerries]] is the name of a coastal area of [[Dublin]], Ireland, with many skerries offshore, including [[Rockabill]], [[Shenick Island]], [[Colt Island]] and [[St Patrick's Island]].
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Portal|Islands}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Skerries}}
{{coastal geography}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Skerries| ]]
[[Category:Scots language]]
[[Category:Scottish coast]]
[[Category:Islands by type]]