Soay, Skye Elgol. The island is part of the Cuillin Hills National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland. The name derives from Old Norse "Sauða-ey" meaning "Sheep Island". Camas nan Gall (G: "Bay of Foreigners") is probably named after the Norse invaders, after whom the Hebrides ("Na h-Innse Gall") are also named. The population peaked at 158 in 1851, following eviction of crofters from Skye in the Highland Clearances. In 1946, author Gavin Maxwell bought the island and established a factory to process shark oil from basking sharks. The enterprise was unsuccessful, lasting just three years. Maxwell wrote about it in
Cuillin Celtic mythology, with the hills being the place where Cuchullin learnt archery from the female warrior Scáthach. It is also suggested that the derivation of the name may reflect the "worthless" (in an agricultural or economic sense) nature of the hills, given their lack of vegetation. The Cuillin are a diverse and complex geological landscape, and there is a clear distinction visible between the two mountain types. The mountains formed from the remains of the magma chambers which fed volcanic eruptions. In the Black Cuillin the rocks cooled to form gabbro, the coarse-grained rock that makes up much of the