Mull, an Argyllshire island, the largest of the Hebrides after Lewis and Skye, is separated from the mainland by the Sound of Mull (19 miles long and to miles wide), and is engirt by a number of smaller islands—Gometra, Ulva, Staffa, Iona, &c. It is 347 sq. m. in area, and has a maximum length and breadth of 30 and 29 miles, but is so deeply indented, especially towards the
Atlantic, by a dozen sea-lochs and bays—the chief, Loch-na-Keal and Loch Seridain—that the coastline cannot be less than 300 miles. The rocks are chiefly volcanic, with a quarry of fine red granite in the south-west; and the surface is mountainous. Benmore (3185 feet) is the loftiest summit, Bentalloch the most beautiful, where there is much that is beautiful—these misty heights, the stretching moors, the sea-cliffs at Carsaig, the terraced basaltic plateaus, the glens, streams, and lakes, and the patches of wood and green pasture. The climate is good for the Highlands, and the soil of fair fertility, but grazing answers much better than corn-crops. Tobermory, in the north, 28 miles WNW. of Oban, is the only town. It was founded in 1788 at the head of its sheltered harbour, and has a pier (1864), a telegraph, a new water-supply (1882), and 1200 inhabitants. Aros and Duart Castles are interesting ruins; and Mac-kinnon's Cave was pronounced by Dr Johnson 'the greatest natural curiosity he had ever seen.' Pop. (1851) 7485; (1891) 4691, of whom 4013 were Gaelic-speaking. See GALLOWAY (MULL OF), KINTYRE.