Ile d'Ouessant
The Ile d'Ouessant (in English Ushant, in Breton Enez Eusa) is an island in the English Channel which marks the north-westernmost point of European France. Located at 48 28N 5 05W, it is administratively part of the département of Finistère.Ouessant marks the southern entrance to the western English Channel, the northern entrance being the Isles of Scilly, southwest of Land's End in England. It does not, however, form part of the Channel Islands.
The island is a rocky landmass some 8 km by 3 km with a total area of 15 km². There is only one significant community, the village of Lampaul. Ouessant has a total population of about 800 people.
The island is home to a special breed of dwarf black sheep.
Ouessant is famous for its maritime past, both as a fishing community and as a key landmark in the Channel approaches. It is named in the refrain of the sea shanty Spanish Ladies:
- We'll rant and we'll roar like true British sailors,
- We'll rant and we'll roar across the salt seas,
- Until we strike soundings in the channel of old England,
- From Ushant to Scilly is thirty-five leagues.
- The First Battle of Ushant, July 27, 1778, fought 100 miles west of Ouessant, was a large but inconclusive engagement in the American Revolutionary War.
- The Second Battle of Ushant, December 12, 1781, was a convoy battle, also in the American Revolutionary War.
- The Third Battle of Ushant, May 28 to June 1, 1794, fought 400 miles west of Ouessant, is better known as the Battle of the Glorious First of June.
The Creac'h lighthouse is reputedly the most powerful in the world.
Ushant is also the title of the autobiography of the American poet and novelist Conrad Aiken, published in 1952.
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