Ushant (; , ; , ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel that marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and in medieval times, Léon. In lower tiers of government, it is a commune in the Finistère department. It is the only place in Brittany, save for Brittany itself, with a separate name in English.
Neighbouring islets include Keller Island () and Kadoran () to the north. The channel between Ushant and Keller is called the . To the southeast, Ushant is separated from the Ponant Islands by the Fromveur Passage; the Ushant side of the strait is marked by La Jument lighthouse, on a rock about 300 metres offshore.
Ushant marks the southern limit of the Celtic Sea and the southern end of the western English Channel, the northern end being the Isles of Scilly, southwest of Land's End in Cornwall, England. According to the International Hydrographic Organization, Ushant lies outside the English Channel and is in the Celtic Sea.
The island is a rocky landmass at most , covering .
Ushant is famous for its maritime past, both as a fishing community and as a landmark in the Channel approaches. It is named in the refrain of the sea shanty "Spanish Ladies":
The British and French navies fought several battles near Ushant.
On 23 July 1815 the captive Emperor Napoleon â aboard towards his final exile â spent several hours on deck watching Ushant, the last part of France he saw.
On 28 May 1896, the SS Drummond Castle ran aground and sank off Ushant after attempting to pass the island to the south; 242 passengers and crew died.
During World War II, a force of British Commandos and US Army Rangers of the 29th Provisional Rangers attacked a German radar installation on Ushant.
In March 1978, the oil tanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground at Portsall about from the island, leading to major pollution of the Brittany coast.
According to an old Breton proverb, ("Who sees Molène sees his pains (or penalty) / who sees Ushant sees his blood / who sees Sein sees his end / who sees Groix sees his cross"). This proverb underlines local points, which are often deadly to navigate with many rocks, and tidal streams of more than ten knots.
A standard start and finish line for traditional all-oceans circumnavigations is between Ushant and Lizard Point.
Ushant has a single school, attended by the majority of the island's youth: L'ÃÂcole D'Ouessant, southeast of the main town. It is the island's only large workplace and a major employer.
Ushant's only village is Lambaol (Lampaul), which has the mayoral office, school and post office. People also live in the outlying hamlets of Feuteun Vélen, Frugullou, Pen ar Lan, and Porsguen.
Ushant's climate is oceanic (Cfb) under the Köppen climate classification: temperate, fully humid, temperate summer, with generally cool, rainy winters and temperate, drier summers.
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The Créac'h Lighthouse () is reputedly the most powerful in Europe. is the French system name for Plymouth in the British system of the Shipping Forecast.
In 2007, Ushant hosted a Scottish book festival and subsequently created its own tartan registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans; in August 2010, the islanders were reported to be seeking to establish cultural links with a Scottish island. Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Highlands and Islands Rob Gibson welcomed the suggestion.
Ushant is connected to the French mainland by air (via the Ushant Airport) and sea. Passenger ferries of the Penn Ar Bed company operate from Brest and Le Conquet year-round, and from Camaret in summer, stopping at the island of Molène en route. Finistair operates flights on Cessna 208 planes from Brest Bretagne Airport.
Ouessant sheep form a rare breed, originating here. These northern European short-tailed sheep were ubiquitous in northern Europe through Roman times but now survive in few places, including Ushant, remote islands and mountains of Britain and Scandinavia, and some places around the Baltic Sea. They are one of the smallest breeds of domestic sheep. They are usually black or dark brown (a few are white), and are kept elsewhere as a heritage breed.
Ushant's isolation has helped the conservation of the European dark bee (Apis mellifera mellifera), unaffected by pollution, pesticides and Varroa parasites. In the rest of France, it has been replaced by Apis mellifera ligustica. As a side effect, populations of the bee louse, Braula coeca, that has elsewhere perished through pesticides are still found on Ushant. The association is attempting to conserve and increase the numbers of the European dark bee, intending to reintroduce it in Western France.
Ushant and the Molène archipelago support Europe's southernmost colony of grey seals. They are mostly at Point Cadoran, on Ushant's north coast, where the strong currents keep the water temperature below 15 degrees Celsius (59 ðF), the warmest that the seals can tolerate.
The island awards annual literary prizes to worldwide writers.