Rockall is a small, uninhabited stone island that is very small and mediocre and is located about 480 km off the west coast of mainland Scotland. With a width of more than 25 meters and a height of 21 meters, the actual island is this extinct volcanic plug does not seem to have a prominent feature.
This small island became an international dispute for over half a century. Four countries - England, Ireland, Iceland and Denmark all claim the island is theirs. Why are these countries so interested in this piece of rock in the middle of nowhere? The answer lies in the abundance of fish in the surrounding area and the huge oil and gas reserves hidden in the surrounding seabed.
Rockall is a volcanic granite pyramid that appears on the surface of the Atlantic like a giant shark's fin. The sea here is so feverish, so it is almost impossible to determine the height of this small island accurately. The approximate height is between 20 and 30 meters above sea level. The permanent inhabitants of this small island are periwinkles and other marine molluscs. A small number of seabirds use stones to rest in the summer or sometimes to breed if the summer is calm without the stormy waves that hit the island.
Although there are written references to this small island since at least the 16th century, the first known landings in Rockall did not occur until the early 19th century. Those responsible for carrying it out were the crew of HMS Endymion in 1811. Shortly after the visit of Endymion, the exact position of Rockall was incorporated into the map / atlas, but that did not prevent the SS named Norge from crashing there in 1904, which causing the loss of 635 lives, the largest disaster on the small island.
Then, on September 21, 1955, a Navy helicopter landed in Rockall and took down three soldiers and a scientist, who then waved the British flag and placed a cement plate stating that the small island belonged to Queen Elizabeth II. And in 1972, the English law passed by parliament, officially declared that the island of Rockall is part of the United Kingdom. But such claims are not recognized by other countries.