Rockall Rockall Rockall () is a British uninhabited granite islet located within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the United Kingdom, situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. Its approximate distances from the closest large islands are: west of Scotland; northwest of Ireland; and 700 km (440 miles) south of Iceland. The nearest permanently inhabited place is North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, 370 km (230 miles) to the east. The United Kingdom claimed Rockall in 1955 and incorporated it as a part of Scotland in 1972. Ireland does not recognise this claim, although it has never sought
Rockall Basin 55 million years ago, a continental fragment formed between Greenland and Europe when the ancient continent of Laurasia was split apart by plate tectonics. The Rockall Islet is the highest point of the plateau, rising 21 m above sealevel. It is made of a type of peralkaline granite. The petroleum and natural gas resources in the area have been the source of political tensions between the governments of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands (a possession of Denmark). The area supports cold water coral colonies and carbonate mound fields such as the Logachev Mounds; the trough supports