Quiraing, a mountain (1779 feet) in Kilmuir parish, Isle of Skye, Inverness-shire, 2 miles WNW of Stenscholl, 6 NE of Uig, and 20 N by W of Portree. Consisting of amygdaloidal trap, and apparently formed by volcanic eruption, it ascends very steeply, almost murally on the NE side; and is capped with a kind of crater, from which it takes its name (Gael. cuith-fhirFhinn, ` pit of the men of Fingal '). The rim around the summit resembles a strong, rough, lofty rampart, with only three or four gaps or fissures affording access to the interior. The principal gap is a steep narrow passage, obstructed by debris, and overhung by a tall, tapering, isolated pinnacle, the ` Needle; ' and the rampart all round, except at the gaps, shows distinct basaltic formation in columnar, pyramidal, and other forms. Through the gaps one gains picturesque glimpses of sea and land; and the hollow itself could shield 4000 head of black cattle, and indeed was probably used in olden times as a place of retreat and concealment from invasion. From the bottom of it rises an oblong tabular mass or truncated rocky hill, the flat and turf-covered ` Table, ' which measures 300 feet long and 180 broad. Such is this ` nightmare of nature,' this huge ` basaltic cathedral,' which in 1872 was ascended on foot by the Empress Eugenie and the Prince Imperial. See chaps. vii. and xi. of Alex. Smith's Summer in Skye (1865).

(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)