 At 1 @,@ 656 square kilometres ( 639 sq mi ) , Skye is the second @-@ largest island in Scotland after Lewis and Harris . The coastline of Skye is a series of peninsulas and bays radiating out from a centre dominated by the Cuillin hills ( Gaelic : An <unk> ) . Malcolm <unk> suggested that its shape " sticks out of the west coast of northern Scotland like a lobster 's claw ready to snap at the fish bone of Harris and Lewis " and W. H. Murray , commenting on its irregular coastline , stated that " Skye is sixty miles [ 100 km ] long , but what might be its breadth is beyond the ingenuity of man to state " . Martin Martin , a native of the island , reported on it at length in a 1703 publication . His geological observations included a note that : 
