Features And Coastal Names
Auld Wife o Da Birrier – a high standing stone at the centre of the land bridge
Baa – submerged rock
Basin o Raga Wick – a bight
Blue Stack – stack shaped like a hay dess
Bonga – unlocated cave given the name from the sound of the sea
Brigs or Briggs – common route
Clongers Geo – inlet where briars grow
Crogie Geo – to crug means to shelter
Docken Stack – a rock above sea water where grass and docks grow
Fiski Geo - possibly from fisk (fish)
Feelie Dyke – a dyke made from sods of turf showing the boundary
Fugla Stacks – bird rocks
Giant’s Grave – two boulders near Eigg
Goeneela – eela (inshore fishing) or Slett-even, level
Garsendi Geo – marks the end of Garde’s property, at a dyke end
Gludderings – steep rocky clefts where water runs through
Gullifooster – sea rock combining gal (roar) and fuster (sea foam), there is a patch of grass on the cliff face
Head or Noup – high and perpendicular rocks
Kusens o Dimmance – di meaning two, two rocks
Lee Cro – sheep cro on hill side
Lee of Volister – li (mountain side) ON - lid
Lerwick – leirvik (muddy bay)
Longi Geo – long geo
Mill Burn – the water from the burn was used in turning the mill to grind meal
Mirka – a black cave
Neddertoun – low lying field, possibly at Bouster
Raga Wick – possibly from rakad (a fished - out ground) or rak (jetsam)
Ramna Geo – inlet of the ravens
Russi Geo – possibly ruse (a fish trap) or rusk (trash)
Saatwater Gaet – saltwater was fetched
Skate Boddom – flat, rounded bay towards the sea
Skerries o de Daal – sea rocks at the mouth of the Daal of Lumbister
Ster – most place names ending with ster are on the sea coast
Taing – a narrow piece of land projecting into the sea and bordered by a flat shore
Timber Geo – a place where wreck wood is found
Trink of Clungis Geo – the narrow opening into the geo
Tufficuddi – a basin shaped by rocks below Graveland where tweed was stretched and fastened. The tweed was submerged at high tide so that it became wauked (felted or matted)
Urdi Geos – urd (a heap of stones at the foot of a wall of rock or rock strewn slope)
Water Slap – from the sound of the water on the rocks
Wester Lochs – lochs of Virdi, Mill and Cro
Wick - a name given to an exposed bay
White Heart Baa – the ship White Heart went on the under water rock
Yanis Dyke – a boundry, possibly from the name Jan
Yealsfield - is an area of Graveland
The Barn – o Clungis Geo was where Daniel Scollay built a boat
At Raw Wick there is a fence showing division between the land of Volister and North Yell
Names possibly derived from birds or animals:
fugal – fowl
swina – swine
sig – bird
scarf – cormorant
titlan – sparrow
There are the ruins of buildings at Skarva Taing
It is not possible to locate the following named pieces of land located in the Herra:
Kemelsmark, Skottamark,Haskosismark, Vogsmark and Jolamark are all units of land named after people.
Rimma – a strip of land
de Tuntegs – land manured with seaweed
de Horni – a corner piece of ground or rig
Longa grona – a damp spot where a stream flows
Vatstivla – a place where water in a lake runs out in a stream such as from a mill dam
de Vanlups – a waterfall. There is a waterfall at the West Neap at Millburn Geo and also a small waterfall at Effstigarth
Morena grone – bog