Cava, Orkney - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from Cava (island)) Uninhabited island in Scotland

Looking north west from Cava: Graemsay and Mainland are in the background

Cava
Location
Old Norse name	Kálfey
Meaning of name	Old Norse meaning 'calf island'
North Cava and Cava Light, Hoy in background, from a glider flying over Scapa Flow.
CavaCava shown within Scotland
OS grid reference	ND326998
Coordinates	58°52′43″N 3°10′04″W / 58.878530°N 3.167737°W / 58.878530; -3.167737
Physical geography
Island group	Orkney
Area	107 ha (0.41 sq mi)
Area rank	147
Highest elevation	38 m (125 ft)
Administration
Council area	Orkney Islands
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Demographics
Population	0

References

Cava Lighthouse
Calf of Cava lighthouse, at the northern tip of the island
Coordinates	58°53′14″N 3°10′40″W / 58.887160°N 3.177844°W / 58.887160; -3.177844
Constructed	1898
Construction	cast iron tower
Height	9.5 metres (31 ft)
Shape	cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings	white tower and lantern
Power source	solar power
Operator	Northern Lighthouse Board

Focal height	11 metres (36 ft)
Range	10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) (white), 8 nmi (15 km; 9.2 mi) (red)
Characteristic	Fl WR 3s.

Cava is an uninhabited island in the Orkney archipelago in Scotland. It is 107 hectares (0.41 sq mi) in extent and rises to 38 metres (125 ft) above sea level. The literal meaning of the name is calf island, a terminology often used to designate a small island near to a larger one. Cava is unusual in that it includes a small peninsula joined to the main body of the island by a narrow isthmus, which is in turn called Calf of Cava.

It is situated in the Scapa Flow just offshore from the much larger island of Hoy. Nearby are the islets of Rysa Little and Fara and the skerry Barrel of Butter. To the south of Cava, between Fara and Rysa Little lies Gutter Sound, the scene of the mass-scuttling of the interned German Imperial High Seas Fleet in 1919.

In the eighteenth century a notorious Orkney pirate, John Gow, raided Hall of Clestrain, in Orphir and abducted two servant girls. Reports vary as to their treatment, with one claiming that they were put ashore on Cava "so loaded with presents that they soon afterwards got husbands." Gow's ship Revenge then ran ashore on the Calf of Eday, leading to his capture.

However, in common with a number of the smaller South Isles of Orkney, Cava lost its resident population during the course of the twentieth century. By the 1980s there were just two residents. There is no longer a habitable building on the island. There are no good anchorages in the vicinity.

In media

In the webcomic Crossed: Wish You Were Here, Cava is a refuge for survivors of an apocalyptic event.

References

Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
Ordnance Survey
Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) Orkneyinga Saga. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). ISBN 0-901824-25-9
Pedersen, Roy (January 1992) Orkneyjar ok Katanes (map, Inverness, Nevis Print)
Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Scotland: Orkney". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
"John Gow - The Orkney Pirate" Orkneyjar. Retrieved 11 Mar 2012.
Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 388
Wenham, Sheena (2003). "The South Isles". In Omand, Donald (ed.). The Orkney Book. Edinburgh: Birlinn. p. 208.
McCallum, Andrew (11 April 1988). "Mystery over island 'sale'". The Glasgow Herald. p. 5. Retrieved 7 November 2018.

External links

Northern Lighthouse Board

58°52′42.7″N 3°10′03.9″W / 58.878528°N 3.167750°W / 58.878528; -3.167750

v t e South West Orkney Islands
Barrel of Butter Calf of Flotta Cava Fara Flotta Graemsay Holm of Houton Hoy Old Man of Hoy Inner Holm Nevi Skerry Rysa Little South Walls Switha

v t e Orkney
List of Orkney islands
Inhabited islands	Mainland Auskerry Burray Eday Egilsay Flotta Gairsay Graemsay Holm of Grimbister Hoy Inner Holm North Ronaldsay Papa Stronsay Papa Westray Rousay Sanday Shapinsay South Ronaldsay South Walls Stronsay Westray Wyre
Other islands	Eynhallow Helliar Holm Lamb Holm Switha Swona North West islands North East islands South West islands South East islands
Towns	Kirkwall Stromness
Mainland parishes	Birsay Deerness Evie Firth Harray Holm Orphir Rendall St Andrews St Ola Sandwick Stenness Stromness
Topics	Geology Prehistory History Scapa Flow Witchcraft
Politics	Earls of Orkney Orkney Islands Council Flag of Orkney Orkney (Scottish Parliament constituency) Orkney and Shetland (UK Parliament constituency) Orcadian Women's Suffrage Society
Sport	Kirkwall Ba game Orkney Amateur Football Association Orkney F.C. Orkney representative football team

v t e Lighthouses of the Northern Lighthouse Board
Scotland (except principal island groups)	Ailsa Craig Ardnamurchan Bass Rock Bell Rock Buchan Ness Cape Wrath Chanonry Corran Point Corsewall Covesea Skerries Crammag Head Davaar Duncansby Head Dunnet Head Fidra Fife Ness Girdle Ness Holy Island (Outer) Inchkeith Isle of May Kinnaird Head Mull of Galloway Mull of Kintyre North Rona Noss Head Pladda Rattray Head Rubh Re St Abbs Head Sanda Scurdie Ness Stoer Head Strathy Point Stroma Sule Skerry Tarbat Ness Turnberry Minor lights
The Hebrides	Barra Head Butt of Lewis Dubh Artach Eilean Glas Flannan Islands Haskeir Hyskeir Lismore Monach Neist Point Ornsay Rinns of Islay Rubha nan Gall Rona Lighthouse Ruvaal Scarinish Skerryvore Tiumpan Head Ushenish Minor lights
Orkney	Auskerry Brough of Birsay Cantick Head Copinsay Hoy Sound (High) Hoy Sound (Low) North Ronaldsay Noup Head Pentland Skerries Start Point Tor Ness Minor lights
Shetland	Bressay Eshaness Fair Isle North Fair Isle South Firths Voe Foula Hoo Stack Little Holm Muckle Flugga Out Skerries Point of Fethaland Sumburgh Head Ve Skerries Minor lights
Isle of Man	Chicken Rock Douglas Head Langness (minor light) Maughold Head Point of Ayre Thousla Rock (minor light)

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In media

See also

References

External links