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Diciadain, 25/Aug/2010
How big is Islay?
Yes, how big is Islay actually? Simple question, isn't it? The easy answer is just looking up some stats, they will tell you Islay is 61,956 hectares or 239 square miles or 620 square kilometres in area. Or that Islay is approx 25 miles long north-south and approx 20 miles wide east-west (that's 40 km x 32 km). But that's rather boring and not necessarily that easy to put into perspective. So let's try something different:
A very common comparison used in the UK is an area the size of Wales. Using the 239 miles² mentioned above it turns out Islay is 0.029 times the size of Wales. Another common measure is the length of a Football field, using a Champions League size field (105 metres long) Islay would be approx 381 football fields long and 305 football fields wide
But there's more (and also the real inspiration for this entry):
Earlier today I came across an entry Flächenvergleiche mit BBC Dimensions on the German Spreeblick blog, which linked to the new BBC Dimensions site:
Dimensions takes important places, events and things, and overlays them onto a map of where you are. Type in your postcode or a place name to get started.
Of course I couldn't resist and had to try a few things with Islay. One example includes If the Mars Spirit Rover had set off from Bowmore, Islay, it would have almost crossed Loch Indaal:
Other interesting comparisons I found include:
- If Mount Vesuvius was found at Bowmore, Islay
- The range of the WW2 Chain Home radar system from Kilchiaran, Islay (which is actually real, Kilchiaran was the home to one of these systems)
- If the Thee Gorges Dam spanned across Port Askaig, Islay
- If the Glastonbury festival was held at Ballygrant, Islay
- If the St Fermin Pamplona bull run started at Port Ellen, Islay … the bulls would chase you from the Port Ellen Co-op to the Maltings
- How big would the Moon be centred on Port Charlotte, Islay
- If the ancient walls of Athens were built around Port Ellen, Islay … they would cross almost the whole south coast of Islay!
Those are the ones I came up with, if you find any other interesting ones please leave them in the comments!
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