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Ouessant marks the southern entrance to the western English Channel, the northern entrance being the Isles of Scilly, southwest of Land's End in England. It does not, however, form part of the Channel Islands.

The island is a rocky landmass some 8 km by 3 km with a total area of 15 km². There is only one significant community, the village of Lampaul. Ouessant has a total population of about 800 people.

The island is home to a special breed of dwarf black sheep.

Ouessant is famous for its maritime past, both as a fishing community and as a key landmark in the Channel approaches. It is named in the refrain of the sea shanty Spanish Ladies:

We'll rant and we'll roar like true British sailors,

We'll rant and we'll roar across the salt seas,

Until we strike soundings in the channel of old England,

From Ushant to Scilly is thirty-five leagues.

Several naval battles have been fought near Ouessant between the British and French navies. See Battle of Ushant.

In March 1978, the US oil tanker Amoco CadizThe Amoco Cadiz was a supertanker that split in two off the coast of Brittany in 1978, resulting in the largest oil spill in history. 120 km of the coastline was covered with oil. In 1979, it was estimated to have caused $250 million in damage to fisherie ran aground about 10 km from the island, causing major pollution of the BrittanyRegion Bretagne Details Information Capital: Rennes Population Total Density 2 972 700 2003 107 /km² Area27 208 km² Arrondissements15 Cantons201 Communes1 268 President of the regional council Jean-Yves Le Drian Departements Cotes-d'Armor (22) Ille-et-Vil coast.

The Creac'h lighthouseAn aid for navigation and pilotage at sea, a lighthouse is a tower building or framework sending out light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire. More primitive navigational aids were once used such as a fire on top of a hill o is reputedly the most powerful in the world.

Ushant is also the title of the autobiography of the AmericanThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in poet and novelist Conrad AikenConrad Potter Aiken ( August 5 1889 August 17 1973) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, born in Savannah, Georgia, whose work includes poetry, short stories and novels. When he was very young, his father killed his mother, then himself. Needless, published in 1952Summary of notable events in 1952 . Events January events January 8 West Germany has 8 million refugees inside its borders. January 24 Sudden heavy snowfall in Algeria. January 24 Vincent Massey sworn in as first Canada-born Governor-General of Canada..