United KingdomOuter HebridesIsland
South Uist
305 km² rising to 620 m out of the Sea of the Hebrides.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
305km²
Area
324km
Coastline
620m
Highest point
Beinn Mhòr
1,754
People
14°C
Warmest sea
August
774km
To the mainland
When to go to South Uist
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (14 °C) and coolest in March (8 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK
South Uist is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to Outer Hebrides. It covers 305 km², with 324 km of coastline. Its highest point, Beinn Mhòr, rises to 620 m. About 1,754 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 774 km away.
Getting there
- Benbecula Airport (BEB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 24 km in a straight lineCar hire at INV airport (Inverness)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesMallaig - Lochboisdale, Oban - Lochboisdale
- 774 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on South Uist.
- 19beachesMol Mòr, Tràigh na Doirlinn and 17 more
- 1viewpoints
- 1lighthousesUshenish Lighthouse
- 2ferry terminalsIonad Aiseig' Loch Baghasdail
- 1marinasLochboisdale Harbour
- 45named peaksBeinn Mhòr, Hecla, Beinn na Laire and 42 more
- 1,060ruins and archaeological sitesPolacher Stone, Chambered Cairn, Loch an Duin and 1,057 more
- 2waymarked walking routesHebridean Way (Hiking), Machair Way
- 4campsitesHowmore Hostel, (3 pitches - booking advisable), Kilbride Campsite and 1 more
- 22hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 5restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
South Uist in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside South Uist, each with its own numbers.
21mountainsPeakyas
12lakesLakeyas
Highest point
620m
Beinn Mhòr
prominence 620 m · according to Peakyas
Largest lake
5.3km²
Loch Bee
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
17.9°C
Loch Ollay
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
21 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Beinn Mhòrprominence 620 m620m
- Hecla606m
- Beinn Ruigh Choinnichprominence 169 m275m
- Easavalprominence 239 m243m
- Triuirebheinnprominence 256 m
- Stulaval
- Beinn Choradail
- Ben Tarbert
13 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
12 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Loch Bee5.3km²
- Loch Druidibeag1.6km²
- Loch Bhornais0.49km²
- Loch Kildonan0.45km²
- Loch Stulaval0.42km²
- Loch Dunakillie0.40km²
- Loch Corodale0.17km²
- Loch Snigiscleit0.17km²
4 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 57 m above the sea. 92 % of it is below 200 m.
- 67 %0–50 m
- 25 %50–200 m
- 7 %200–500 m
- <1 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Isle of South Uist1,818 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Night low (°C) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 7 |
| Sea (°C) | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 151 | 109 | 101 | 72 | 81 | 82 | 102 | 115 | 112 | 143 | 138 | 149 |
| Wet days | 23 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 0.2 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 5.8 | 7.1 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 38 | 36 | 32 | 27 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 30 | 33 | 36 | 37 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.2 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.2 |
| 2021 | −0.1 | −0.3 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.6 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +1.0 |
| 2023 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +2.1 | +1.4 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.4 |
| 2024 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.4 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.5 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +1.4 | +1.8 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.7 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
BenbeculaUnited Kingdom76 km²124 m20 km away
BarraUnited Kingdom58 km²383 m33 km away
Isle of SkyeUnited Kingdom1,628 km²993 m62 km away
North UistUnited Kingdom298 km²334 m37 km away
CannaUnited Kingdom11 km²208 m52 km away
RùmUnited Kingdom107 km²812 m65 km away
Isle of RaasayUnited Kingdom62 km²443 m78 km away
TireeUnited Kingdom79 km²141 m89 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q841059) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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