Шотландиядағы Басс аралы: Тарихы мен табиғаты

Island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland

The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (/pron//b//æ//s/), (Creag nam Bathais or Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north east of North Berwick, it is a steep sided volcanic plug, at its highest point, and is home to a large colony of gannets. The rock is uninhabited, but historically has been settled by an early Christian hermit, and later was the site of an important castle, which after the Commonwealth period was used as a prison. The island belongs to Hew Hamilton Dalrymple, whose family acquired it in 1706, and before to the Lauder family for almost six centuries. The Bass Rock Lighthouse was constructed on the rock in 1902, and the remains of an ancient chapel survive. The Bass Rock features in many works of fiction, including Lion Let Loose by Nigel Tranter, Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Lion Is Rampant by the Scottish novelist Ross Laidlaw and The New Confessions by William Boyd. Most recently it features prominently in The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld, which won the 2021 Stella Prize.

The island is a volcanic plug of phonolitic trachyte rock of Carboniferous (Dinantian) age. The rock was first recognised as an igneous intrusion by James Hutton. Hugh Miller visited in 1847 and wrote about the rock's geology in his book Edinburgh and its Neighbourhood, Geological and Historical: with The Geology of the Bass Rock. It is one of a small number of islands off the East Lothian coast including the Islands of the Forth. To the west are Craigleith, and the Lamb, Fidra and finally to the west of Fidra, the low lying island of Eyebroughy. These are also mainly the result of volcanic activity. To the northeast can be seen the Isle of May off the coast of the East Neuk of Fife. Bass Rock stands more than high in the Firth of Forth Islands Special Protection Area which covers some but not all of the islands in the inner and outer Firth. The Bass Rock is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in its own right, due to its gannet colony. It is sometimes called "the Ailsa Craig of the East". It is of a similar age (c.340 million years), geological form and petrology to nearby North Berwick Law, a hill on the mainland

The Lauders built a fortification not far above the island's only landing place. The slope is crossed by a curtain wall, which naturally follows the lie of the ground, having projections and round bastions where a rocky projection offers a suitable foundation. The parapets are battlemented, with the usual walk along the top of the walls. Another curtain wall at right angles runs down to the sea close to the landing place, ending in a ruined round tower, whose vaulted base has poorly splayed and apparently rather unskilfully constructed embrasures. The entrance passes through this outwork wall close to where it joins the other. The main defences are entered a little farther on in the same line, through a projecting two story building which has some fireplaces with very simple and late mouldings. The buildings are of the local basalt, and the masonry is rough rubble; there are, as is so frequently the case, no very clear indications for dating the different parts, which were in all probability erected at different times. A little beyond the entrance there was a tower that formed a simple keep/bastion and to which had been added a gabled chamber in the 17th century, which, though of restricted dimensions, must have been comfortable enough, with blue Dutch tiles round its moulded fireplace, later very much decayed. The keep and the living quarters within the walls were taken down to provide stone for the lighthouse in 1902. A well at the top of the Bass, where today the foghorn is situated, provided freshwater for the island's occupants.

Halfway up the island stands the ruin of St Baldred's Chapel, which is sited upon a cell or cave in which this Scottish Saint spent some time. Although the Lauders held most of the Bass Rock, this part of it had remained in the ownership of the Church until 1316, when it was granted to the family. The chapel appears to have been rebuilt by the Lauder family several times. A papal bull dated 6 May 1493, refers to the parish church of the Bass, or the Chapel of St Baldred, being noviter erecta (newly established) at that time. On 5 January 1542 John Lauder, son of Sir Robert Lauder of the Bass, Knt., was recorded as "the Cardinal's Secretary" representing Cardinal David Beaton at a reconsecration of the restored and ancient St Baldred's chapel on the Bass. In 1576 it was recorded that the church on the Bass, and that at Auldhame on the mainland, required no readers, doubtless something to do with the Reformation.

The island plays host to more than 150,000 northern gannets and is the world's largest colony of the species. Described famously by naturalists as "one of the wildlife wonders of the world" (often credited to David Attenborough), it was also awarded BBC Countryfile Magazine's Nature Reserve of the Year, following a nomination by Chris Packham, in 2014/15. When viewed from the mainland, large regions of the surface appear white owing to the sheer number of birds (and their droppings, which give off 152,000 kg of ammonia per year, equivalent to the achievements of 10 million broilers). In fact the scientific name for the northern gannet, Morus bassanus, derives from the rock. It was known traditionally in Scots as a "solan goose". As on other gannetries, such as St Kilda, the birds were harvested for their eggs and the flesh of their young chicks, which were considered delicacies. It is estimated that in 1850 almost 2,000 birds were harvested from the rock. Other bird species that frequent the rock include guillemot, razorbill, shag, puffin, eider and numerous gulls. The natural history of the rock was written about almost five hundred years ago in John Mair's De Gestis Scotorum ("The deeds of the Scots"), published in 1521. Today, the Scottish Seabird Centre at North Berwick has solar powered cameras located on the island which beam back live close up images of the seabirds to large screens on the mainland, just over a mile away. The images are sharp enough for visitors at the Seabird Centre to read the ID rings on birds' feet. The Seabird Centre has a range of cameras located on the islands of the Forth and also broadcasts the images live on the internet. The centre also has exclusive landing rights to the island from the owner Hew Hamilton Dalrymple and operates a range of boat trips going around, and landing on, the island throughout the year, weather permitting. In mid June 2022 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was detected in the northern gannets connected to the Bass Rock, at that time the world's largest colony. In 2022 more than 5,000 dead birds were counted on a single day, following a whole island drone survey undertaken by the University of Edinburgh, in a colony that normally had 150,000 birds. Susan Davies, chief executive of the Scottish Seabird Centre, said, "We know many more birds died before and after that. The scale of impact was heartbreaking to see."

The soil is fertile and supports a wide variety of plants. These include the Bass mallow which is otherwise only found on a few other islands, including Ailsa Craig and Steep Holm.

Due to its imposing nature, prison and connection with Scottish history, the Bass has been featured in several fictional works.

Robert Louis Stevenson had at least one strong connection with the Bass, as his cousin, David Stevenson, designed the lighthouse there. Amongst his earliest memories were holidays in North Berwick. He often stayed at Scoughall Farm, whence the Bass can be seen,
It also featured as the cover photograph of the 1967 album "Gateway To The Forth" by Jimmy Shand & his Band.

The Bass Rock appears as background in the title song sequence of the 1998 Bollywood film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.