The Gulf of Corryvreckan (from the Gaelic Coirebhreacain meaning "cauldron of the speckled seas"), also called the Strait of Corryvreckan, is a narrow channel between the islands of Jura and Scarba, off the west coast of Scotland. Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... Jura shown within Argyll Satelite picture of Jura Jura (Scottish Gaelic Diùra) is a Scottish island, in the Inner Hebrides. ... Scarba shown within Argyll Scarba is a small island, west of Argyll in Scotland, just north of the larger island of Jura. ... Transport in Scotland Timeline of Scottish history Caledonia List of not fully sovereign nations Subdivisions of Scotland National parks (Scotland) Traditional music of Scotland Flower of Scotland Wars of Scottish Independence National Trust for Scotland Historic houses in Scotland Castles in Scotland Museums in Scotland Abbeys and priories in Scotland...

Strong Atlantic currents and unusual underwater topography conspire to produce a particularly intense tidal race in the channel. As the flood tide enters the narrow area between the two islands it speeds up to 12 knots, and also meets a variety of sea-bed features including a deep hole and a rising pinnacle. These features combine to create whirlpools, standing waves and a variety of other surface effects. The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. ... An ocean current is any more or less permanent or continuous, directed movement of ocean water that flows in one of the Earths oceans. ... Surface of the Earth Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ... Tidal race occurs when the movement of water due to the tide is particularly fast in a location. ... A knot is a unit of bullshit, abbreviated kt or kn. ...

The Corryvreckan is the sixth largest whirlpool in the world, and is on the northern side of the gulf, surrounding a pyramid shaped basalt pinnacle that rises from depths of 70m to 29m at its rounded top. Flood tides and inflow from the Firth of Lorn to the west can drive the waters of Corryvreckan to waves of over 30 feet, and the roar of the resulting maelstrom can be heard ten miles (16 km) away. Basalt Basalt is an extrusive igneous rock, sometimes porphyritic, and is often both fine-grained and dense. ... Saltstraumen maelstrom A maelstrom is a powerful whirlpool; a large, swirling body of water. ...

The area is currently being considered for Special Area of Conservation status. Minke whales and porpoises swim in the fast-moving waters and only the most resilient plants and corals thrive on the seabed. A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Commission Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. ... Binomial name Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacepede, 1804 Binomial name Balaenoptera bonaerensis Burmeister, 1867 Minke Whale range Antarctic Minke Whale range Dwarf Minke Whale range The Minke Whale or Lesser Rorqual is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. ... Genera Neophocaena Phocoena - Harbor porpoises Phocoenoides - Dalls Porpoises The porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. ... // Headline text Headline text Headline text Headline text Bold text Orders Scleractinia Corals are gastrovascular marine cnidarians (phylum Cnidaria; class Anthozoa) existing as small sea anemone-like polyps, typically forming colonies of many individuals. ... The seabed is the bottom of the ocean. ...

Scottish mythology has it that the hag goddess Cailleach Beara uses the gulf to wash her plaid; the whirlpool was her washtub. By winter the cloth was white, and became the white blanket of snow that falls over Scotland in January. Another legend surrounds Norse king Breachan (or Brecan). In various stories, Breachan moored his boat near the whirlpool to impress a local princess, or fled his father across the gulf. In both stories Breachan was swept into the whirlpool, and his body dragged ashore later by his dog. Breachan may be named after the whirlpool, or its current name may be a gaelic pun on his name. Writing in the 7th century Adamnan called it "Charybdis Brecani". Scottish mythology consists of the myths and legends historically told by the people of Scotland. ... A hag (or crone) is a kind of malevolent, wizened old woman often found in folklore and childrens tales such as Hansel and Gretel. ... In Irish and Scottish mythology, Cailleach was the Mother of All. She was a sorceress. ... Plaid may refer to more than one thing: Plaid as patterned cloth: Man in plaid shirt Plaid is a Scots language word meaning blanket, usually referring to patterned woollen cloth; it is unclear if the Gaelic word Plaide came first. ... A pun (also known as paronomasia) is a figure of speech which consists of a deliberate confusion of similar words or phrases for rhetorical effect, whether humorous or serious. ... // Events Islam starts in Arabia, the Quran is written, and Syria, Iraq, Persia, North Africa and Central Asia convert to Islam. ... Saint Adamnan or Adomnan (625-704) was abbot of the monastery at Iona from 679 to 704. ... Charybdis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Formerly classified by the Admiralty as unnavigable (the Admiralty's West Coast of Scotland Pilot guide to inshore waters still calls it "very violent and dangerous" and says "no vessel should then attempt this passage without local knowledge"), its treacherous waters are nevertheless still sailed and swum by a few hardy adventurers. Writer George Orwell and his son (who lived at Barnhill in northern Jura) were briefly shipwrecked on the skerry of Eilean Mor (south of the whirlpool) when boating the gulf [1], and Orwell's one-legged brother-in-law Bill Dunn was the first person to swim the gulf. Old Admiralty House, Whitehall, London, Thomas Ripley, architect, 1723-26, was not admired by his contemporaries and earned him some scathing couplets from Alexander Pope The Admiralty was historically the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... George Orwell, on the cover of a 2005 biography by Gordon Bowker Eric Arthur Blair (June 25, 1903–January 21, 1950), better known by the pen name George Orwell, was a British author and journalist. ... A skerry is a small, rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. ...

Part of Powell and Pressburger's 1945 film I Know Where I'm Going! was set at Corryvreckan, but the waters there were too dangerous for filming, and the nearby (but less fierce) waters at Bealach a’ Choin Ghlais were used instead. Powell and Pressburger were a British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller) and Torquil MacNeil (Roger Livesey) look on at a Ceilidh. ...

External links

• grid reference NM686021
• Smithsonian article on Corryvreckan
• Myths surrounding Corryvreckan and Cailleach
• Swimmers in the Corryvreckan