Celtic Sea

Head to Ireland’s southern coast to find the Celtic Sea, it forms part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is surrounded by many channels that include the Bristol Channel and the English Channel. It is also surrounded by Cornwall, Devon and Wales. There is a beautiful grouping of small islands in the Celtic Sea which is known as the Isles of Scilly. There is so much Celtic history in the surrounding areas of this sea and that’s how it got its name!

Celtic Sea Facts for Kids

• Did you know that a cluster of small islands is called an archipelago? That’s exactly what the Isles of Scilly is!
• It’s interesting to note that the shores of Scilly have seen the most shipwrecks than anywhere else in the world! The weather conditions are troublesome with gale force winds and large areas of rocky terrain. There have been 530 shipwrecks here – and those are the ones that are documented!
• These islands have also been given the status of ‘Areas of Outstanding Beauty’. This means that they are considered a very important landscape in Britain. These areas will be very well looked after to preserve the nature in these areas.
• There are 5 populated islands that form the Isles of Scilly, there are also about 140 rocky islets.
• E.W.L. Holt was the person to come up with the name of the sea in 1921. They wanted a name that would be easy to associate with the area as a whole.
• This name was suggested at a meeting of various fisheries experts from countries like England, France and Scotland. This meeting was held in Dublin.
• There seems to be no ends to this ocean as no land divides where the west of the Atlantic Ocean meets the south of the Celtic Sea.
• The Celtic Sea has a shelf also known as the seabed which is referred to as the Celtic Shelf.
• There is some amazing marine in this area and makes it a popular area for commercial fishing. There is about 1.8 million tons of fish caught here each year!
• Four of the main species found in the Celtic sea are the harbor porpoise, the bottlenose dolphin, the minke whale and the short-beaked common dolphin.
• This is not the most productive area for natural resources and there has been only some success with the retrieval of oil and gas from the Celtic Sea.

Questions

1. What is the Isle of Scilly?

2. How many shipwrecks have been recorded on the shore of Scilly?

3. Who came up with the name of the Celtic Sea?

4. What are the four main species of sea life found in the Celtic Sea?

5. Which ocean is the Celtic Sea part of?