Fingal's Cave
F2. Maritime Culture, Heritage, Archaeology, Art and MuseumsDefinition
Geological site associated with Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture.
Fingal’s Cave is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland, formed in hexagonal columnar basalt of the same Paleocene lava flow as the Giant’s Causeway. About 72 meters deep with a roughly 20-meter arched roof, the cave’s resonant acoustics gave it the Gaelic name An Uaimh Bhinn (the melodious cave). Felix Mendelssohn visited in 1829 and wrote the concert overture The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave), Op. 26. The island is owned by the National Trust for Scotland.
Source: Staffa, Inner Hebrides, Scotland; Mendelssohn's The Hebrides overture (Op. 26) inspired by an 1829 visit.