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{{Short description|Small island in Shetland, Scotland}}
{{distinguish|Moosa|Moussa|Musa (name)|Musse (name)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox Scottish island
|Image=Snow showers over Mousa IMG 7951 (33077649235).jpg
|ImageCaption=A snow shower over Mousa
|Map=
|coordinates = {{coord|60.00|-1.17|display=inline}}
|location_map=Scotland Shetland
|caption=Mousa shown within the Shetland Islands
|GridReference=HU460240
|celtic name=
|norse name= Mósey<br />([[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]: Mosøy)
|meaning of name= [[Old Norse]]: moor or mossy island<ref name=Smith>{{Haswell-Smith|411-14}}</ref>
|area=  {{convert|180|ha|sqmi}}<ref name=Smith/>
|area rank=115=
|highest elevation=  {{convert|55|m|ft|0}}<ref name=Smith/>
|Population= 0
|population rank=
|main settlement=
|island group= [[Mainland, Shetland|Shetland]]
|local authority=[[Shetland|Shetland Islands]]
|references=<ref>{{Ordnance Survey}}</ref><ref name=saga>Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) ''Orkneyinga Saga''. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). {{ISBN|0-901824-25-9}}</ref>
}}

'''Mousa''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|uː|s|ə}} ({{langx|non|Mosey}} "moss island") is a small island in [[Shetland]], Scotland, uninhabited since the nineteenth century. The island is known for the [[Broch of Mousa]], an [[Iron Age]] [[Broch|round tower]], and is designated as a [[Special Protection Area]] for [[storm-petrel]] breeding colonies.

==Geography==
Mousa lies directly on the [[60th parallel north|60th parallel]], 60 degrees north of the equator and 30 degrees south of the [[North Pole]]. It lies {{convert|1|nmi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=in}} off the east coast of [[Mainland Shetland]] in the parish of [[Dunrossness]] about {{convert|15|nmi|km|abbr=off}} south of Lerwick. Almost divided in two by inlets, East and West Hams, the island is {{convert|1+1/2|mi|km|abbr=off|round=0.5}} long and almost {{convert|1|mi|km||round=0.5|abbr=off|spell=in}} in maximum width. Geologically beds of hard sandstone alternate with muddy limestones that weather to produce fertile soil. A [[quarry]] provided [[flagstone]]s for [[Lerwick]].<ref name=Smith/>

[[File:Off the east side of Shetland's south mainland showing the famous Mousa Broch.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Mousa as seen from the mainland; the broch is visible on the right.]]

The [[Norsemen|Norse]] tended to consider an island to be something that they could circumnavigate, and this included being able to drag a boat over land. Thus Mousa was considered two islands, namely North Isle and South Isle.

{{clear|left}}

==Flora and fauna==
Mousa's fertile soil supports a rich diversity of plants, including [[sheep's-bit]] and [[creeping willow]] in the herb-rich grassland, despite the wind, salt spray and grazing by sheep.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mousaboattrips.co.uk/Mousa_Leaflet_1.pdf |title=Mousa Reserve guide |publisher=RSPB |access-date=2007-12-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808175235/http://www.mousaboattrips.co.uk/Mousa_Leaflet_1.pdf |archive-date=2007-08-08 }}</ref>

Mousa is known for [[gray seal|grey]] and [[common seal]]s, [[black guillemot]]s, [[Arctic tern]]s and [[storm-petrel]]s.<ref name=rspb>{{cite web| url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/m/mousa/index.asp| title=Mousa| publisher=RSPB| access-date=2007-12-10}}</ref> It holds c. 6,800 breeding pairs of [[European storm-petrel]]s in total. This represents about 8% of the British population and 2.6% of the world population.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Ratcliffe | first1 = N. | last2 = Vaughan | first2 = D. | last3 = White | first3 = M. | year = 1998 | title = The status of Storm Petrels on Mousa, Shetland | journal = Scottish Birds | volume = 19 | pages = 154–159 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Harrop | first1 = Hugh | last2 = Tipling | first2 = David | year = 2002 | title = The Storm Petrels of Mousa | journal = [[Birding World]] | volume = 15 | issue = 8| pages = 332–333 }}</ref> The island is designated as both a [[Special Protection Area]] (SAC) and a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI)<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.jncc.gov.uk/pdf/SPA/UK9002361.pdf| title=SAC Standard Data Form| publisher=JNCC| access-date=2007-12-10| archive-date=28 July 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080728175347/http://www.jncc.gov.uk/pdf/SPA/UK9002361.pdf| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/1204|title=Mousa SSSI|access-date=12 October 2020|publisher=NatureScott}}</ref> by [[NatureScot]], and is run as a reserve by the [[RSPB]].<ref name=rspb/> The island has also been identified as an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) by [[BirdLife International]].<ref name=bli>{{cite web |url= https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/2548 |title=Mousa|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024|website= BirdLife Data Zone|publisher= BirdLife International|access-date= 2024-09-01}}</ref>

[[File:Peeriebard.jpg|left|thumb|The east coast of Mousa towards the [[Peerie Bard]]]]
The seas surrounding the island host a population of [[sandeel]] that provides a food source for many species of fish, seabirds, seals, whales and dolphins: the area is considered to have the most reliable population of sandeels of all the seas surrounding Shetland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.snh.gov.uk/sitelink-api/v1/sites/10410/documents/48|title=Mousa to Boddam Marine Protected Area Summary|access-date=12 October 2020|publisher=Scottish Government}}</ref> These seas are therefore also protected, forming both a [[Special Area of Conservation]] (SAC) and a [[Marine Protected Areas in Scotland|Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area]] (NCMPA).<ref name=sac>{{cite web|url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/8333|title=Mousa SAC|access-date=12 October 2020|publisher=NatureScott}}</ref><ref name=mpa>{{cite web|url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/10410|title=Mousa to Boddam MPA(NC)|access-date=12 October 2020|publisher=NatureScott}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:A misty day at Mousa Broch.jpg|left|thumb|A misty day at [[Mousa Broch]]]]
[[File:Heladia Carta Marina.JPG|left|thumb|Shetland and Mousa on the [[Carta Marina]] in 1539]]
{{Main|Broch of Mousa}}
Mousa Broch is the best preserved Iron Age fortification in the British Isles.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1405.html | title=Overview of Mousa| publisher=[[Gazetteer for Scotland]]| access-date=2007-12-10}}</ref> The 2000-year-old round tower stands above a rocky shoreline, one of a pair of [[broch]]s guarding Mousa Sound. They may be part of a chain of brochs in this part of Shetland, visible from each other as beacons. The other of the "pair", at Burland on the [[Mainland, Shetland|Mainland]] is far less well preserved.<ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=PLA | desc=Broch of Burland | num=998 |num2=HU43NW 5 | access-date=19 June 2025}}</ref> Many brochs were the focus of a settlement, but there has never been a full archaeological investigation to confirm this at Mousa. It was cleared out in 1860 and 1919. Mousa has survived intact to such a height and is thought to never have been much higher than it is today. It escaped stone gathering for nearby stone walls and croft houses (now ruined).<ref name=broch>{{cite web| url=http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/mousa/mousabroch/index.html| title=Mousa Broch| publisher=Undiscovered Scotland| access-date=2007-12-09}}</ref>

Mousa is mentioned in the [[Orkneyinga Saga]] as being used as a place of defence during invasions, as well as a lovers' hideout.

The entrance passage into Mousa Broch is long, reflecting the enormous thickness of its walls.<ref>{{cite journal|first=D. |last=Thomas|year= 2011 |title=An Investigation of Aural Space inside Mousa Broch by Observation and Analysis of Sound and Light|website= www.intarch.ac.uk |issue=30|url= http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue30/thomas_index.html}}</ref> At its base the broch is 15m in diameter, but the interior is only 6m in diameter. Within the huge thickness of the base of the walls are a range of chambers probably used for storage, while at higher levels passages run between the inner and outer skins of the wall. On the inside a steep flight of steps leads to the top of the wall. Halfway up is a landing which probably gave access to an upper level of the interior of the broch, built on a ledge running around the circumference of the interior.<ref name=broch/>

In July 1558, two Scottish ships from Aberdeen, the ''Meikle Swallow'' and ''Little Swallow'', attacked an English fleet off Shetland. The Scottish sailors took cattle and other goods belonging to [[Olave Sinclair]] on Mousa. Sinclair claimed compensation in the Edinburgh courts.<ref>John H. Ballantyne & Brian Smith, ''Shetland Documents, 1195-1579'' (Lerwick, 1999), p. 92 no. 129.</ref>

==Transport==
The island is readily accessed using the passenger-only ferry which operates from the [[Shetland Mainland]] at [[Leebitton]], [[Sandwick, Dunrossness|Sandwick]] in summer time.
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==See also==
{{Portal|Scottish islands}}
* [[List of islands of Scotland]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

{{East Shetland}}
{{Shetland}}
{{RSPB sites in Scotland}}
{{Marine Protected Areas in Scotland}}

{{coord|60|00|N|1|10|W|display=title|region:GB_type:isle}}

[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Shetland]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of Shetland]]
[[Category:Uninhabited islands of Shetland]]
[[Category:Special Protection Areas in Scotland]]
[[Category:Special Areas of Conservation in Scotland]]
[[Category:Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in Scotland]]
[[Category:Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas of Scotland]]