Puffin Island | |
Map: | island of Ireland |
Native Name: | Oileán na gCánóg |
Native Name Link: | Irish language |
Location: | Atlantic Ocean |
Coordinates: | 51.8333°N -35°W |
Area Acre: | 138 |
Length Km: | 1.5 |
Width Km: | 0.7 |
Elevation M: | 213 |
Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
Country: | Ireland |
Country Admin Divisions Title: | Province |
Country Admin Divisions: | Munster |
Country Admin Divisions Title 1: | County |
Country Admin Divisions 1: | Kerry |
Population: | 0 |
Puffin Island (Irish: Oileán na gCánóg), historically called Inishfearglin,[2] is an uninhabited steep rocky island lying off the coast of the Iveragh Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland.
The island is about 1.5 km long and 0.7 km wide, and rises to 213 metres. It is separated from the mainland by Puffin Sound, which is only about 250 metres across. Day visits to the island from Valentia can be arranged. It lies off the northern headland of St. Finian's Bay.
Puffin Island holds important populations of several seabird species, including Atlantic puffins, Manx shearwaters and European storm-petrels, and was acquired as a nature reserve by the Irish Wildbird Conservancy (now BirdWatch Ireland) in the early 1980s.[3]
The island also has some signs of ancient human habitation, and it has attracted the interest of archaeologists.