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SARK

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Originally appearing in Volume V24, Page 220 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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SARK , a small See also:

island of the Channel Islands, 7 M. E. of See also:Guernsey, much visited on See also:account of its magnificent cliff-scenery and caves. It is 3 M. See also:long from N. to S. and 1 m. in extreme breadth. See also:Area, 1274 acres; pop. (1901) 504. It is divided into two unequal parts, known as See also:Great Sark (the more See also:northern) and Little Sark, connected by the Coupee, a lofty See also:isthmus so narrow at the See also:summit that it bears only a roadway, artificially built up, and flanked by a precipice on either See also:side. Many islets and detached rocks See also:lie off the See also:coast; Brechou Island to the See also:west is large enough to have a few See also:fields and a See also:house upon it. Some of the rocks are very See also:fine, such as the four lofty See also:flat-topped pillars called the Autelets (altars). The See also:harbour of Sark lies on the See also:east coast, a tiny cliff-See also:bound See also:bay protected by a See also:breakwater, communicating with the interior only through two tunnels, one of which is See also:modern, while the other See also:dates from 1588. The harbour is called Creux. This is a See also:term of See also:common use in the Channel Islands, applying primarily to natural funnels or pits, but extended also to clefts such as that which forms the harbour. The Creux du Derrible (Old See also:French, a downfall of rocks) is a wide See also:shaft opening from the summit of the cliff and communicating with the See also:sea through a See also:double See also:cave, through which the sea rushes at high See also:water.

Of the many majestic caverns in the cliffs the Boutiques and the Gouliots, both on the west coast of Great Sark, may be specially mentioned. The marine See also:

fauna is very See also:rich. On Great Sark are the See also:majority of the houses, the See also:church, and the seigneurie or See also:manor-house. An See also:ancient See also:mill stands at the summit of the island (375 ft.). See also:Agriculture and fishing are carried on. In Little Sark a disused shaft marks a See also:silver-mine, worked in 1835, but soon abandoned. The island is included in the bailiwick of Guernsey, but has a See also:court of See also:justice of feudal See also:character, the See also:officers being appointed by the seigneur.

End of Article: SARK

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