Editing Lihou (section)

==Geography and climate==
Lihou is the furthest west of the [[Channel Islands]] and at low tide it is linked to the nearby L'Erée headland on Guernsey by a {{convert|400|m|ft|abbr=on}} stone causeway.<ref name=lihouisland>{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.gg/lihouisland |title=Lihou Island |publisher=States of Guernsey |access-date=2 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221220705/http://www.gov.gg/lihouisland |archive-date=21 February 2014}}</ref> Apart from shingle beaches the island has a {{convert|20|m|ft|abbr=on}} high ridge running approximately north–south.<ref name=jncc>{{cite web |title=Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands |url=http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/RIS/UK22001.pdf |publisher=UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (defunct) |access-date=4 February 2014 |author=Joint Nature Conservation Committee |year=2006 |archive-date=12 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812024652/http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/ris/uk22001.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{rp|5}} Lihou is mainly composed of weathered rock below which is granite and gneiss bedrock.<ref name=jncc/> The island has a mild oceanic climate like other Channel Islands, owing to being buffered by the nearby English and French coastlines.<ref>{{cite web|title=Climate of the Channel Islands|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.gg/statsFrame1024.htm|publisher=Meteorological Observatory, Guernsey Airport|access-date=4 February 2014|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235728/http://www.metoffice.gov.gg/statsFrame1024.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lihou shares the weather features of Guernsey, with winter temperatures falling to {{convert|4.4|C|abbr=on}} in February and summers with a high of {{convert|19.5|C|abbr=on}} in August.<ref>{{cite web |title=Guernsey |url=http://worldweather.wmo.int/195/c01373.htm |work=World Weather Information Service |publisher=World Meteorological Organization |access-date=4 February 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Lihou causeway - geograph.ci - 137.jpg|thumb|left|The Lihou causeway at low tide]]
Two small islets close to the island, Lissroy and Lihoumel, are breeding places for a number of endangered species of bird, including [[Eurasian oystercatcher]]s and [[common ringed plover]]s.<ref name=jncc/>{{rp|7}}<ref name=environment>{{cite web |title=Lihou Island |url=http://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3510&p=0 |publisher=Environment Department, States of Guernsey |date=October 2012 |access-date=2014-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924023217/http://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3510&p=0 |archive-date=2015-09-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{rp|2}} Numerous other species of bird and plant are found on Lihou such as [[peregrine falcon]]s and [[Erodium|sea storksbill]]. The Guernsey Environment Department does not allow visitors to go to the two islets and the shingle bank at certain times of the year in order to allow the birds to breed.<ref name=environment/>{{rp|3}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lihouisland.com/content/faqs-0 |title=FAQs |publisher=Lihou Charitable Trust |access-date=4 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202223836/http://www.lihouisland.com/content/faqs-0 |archive-date=2 February 2014 }}</ref> Approximately {{convert|800|m|mi|frac=2|abbr=off}} north of the island is a submerged ledge called Grand Etacre, which was considered to be a hazard to navigation in the nineteenth century.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/sailingdirectio00whitgoog |title=Sailing Directions for the English Channel |page=[https://archive.org/details/sailingdirectio00whitgoog/page/n116 104] |author=Martin White |publisher=Admiralty Hydrographic Office |year=1835}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/26742/pages/3068/page.pdf |title=London Gazette |access-date=4 February 2014 |issue=26742 |page=3068 |date=22 May 1896}}</ref>

Lihou island was identified as a ''Site of Nature Conservation Importance'' in 1989 and as part of an ''Important Bird Area'', which includes parts of the shoreline of Guernsey.<ref name=environment/>{{rp|2}} On 1 March 2006 Lihou and L'Erée headland were designated a part of Guernsey's first [[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar wetland site]], covering about {{convert|427|ha|acres}} of land and sea.<ref name=environment/>{{rp|2}}<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Wetlands of International Importance |url=http://www.ramsar.org/pdf/sitelist_order.pdf |publisher=Ramsar Convention on Wetlands |access-date=2 February 2014 |page=29 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Channel Island Marine Molluscs |publisher=Charonia Media |page=18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6bUJWZOu8TQC&pg=PA18 |author=Paul Chambers |year=2008|isbn=9780956065506 }}</ref> This has created a marine reserve for the extensive variety of wildlife including more than 200 species of seaweed on the shores of Lihou,<ref name=lihouisland/><ref name=jncc/><ref>{{cite web |title=The Annotated Ramsar List: United Kingdom |url=http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-documents-list-anno-uk/main/ramsar/1-31-218%5E15868_4000_0__ |publisher=Ramsar Convention on Wetlands |access-date=2 February 2014}}</ref> and more than 150 species of birds observed in the area.<ref>{{cite news |title=Guernsey's L'Eree wetland is vital eco system |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/guernsey/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8493000/8493704.stm |access-date=5 February 2014 |date=2 February 2010|publisher=BBC}}</ref>

The [[Geology of Guernsey#Lihou Island|geology of Lihou Island]] is rather complex but closely associated with neighbouring Guernsey.