often prevail and render it impoffible for
a boat to go, but in tolerable good weather
(and furely nobody would go i o miles to
fea in bad weather on pleafure) a boat
may approach it with fafety.
I have vifited StafFa feveral times, and
never met with any thing like an accident
; the landing is perfectly eafy and fafe,
when conducted by the people accuftomed
to the ifland.
Staffa is a bold high iflet, riling nearly perpendicular
in many places ; being about a
mile long, and one eighth o f a mile broad.
It is almoft furrounded by perfect bafaltic
columns in different directions, and of
unequal magnitude; they are in general
perfectly diftinCt and detached from each
other. The more earthy parts in the hollows
confift of a fingular fpecies of rnandel
ftone, of a dark dirty brown colour, full
of holes, many of which contain caleedony,
dony, zeolite, and olivin. Zeolite appeared
very fcarce, and I never found any deferving
the name of a good fpecimen.
The fummits of bafaltic prifms appear
above the grafs in one part of the ifland.
The boat generally lands you on bafaltic
columns, which are even with the water;
from which you walk on others riling in
regular fucceflion and ferving the purpofe
of Heps, until you arrive at the height of
the ifland.
Near the cave of Fingal the columns
are of "great height, fome perpendicular,
others bending. Oppohte there is the ifland
of Boolhala, which is compleatly formed
of columns in all directions ; but lefs than
thofe of Stalfa, from which it is feparated
by a narrow found, very deep, though not
exceeding io yards wide.
The fea almoft continually beating againli
the weftern end of the ifle, may probably
have