A complication is that there are various descriptions of the scope of the Hebrides. The Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland describes the Inner Hebrides as lying "east of the Minch". This definition would encompass all offshore islands, including those that lie in the sea lochs, such as and , which might not ordinarily be described as "Hebridean". However, no formal definition exists.Keay & Keay (1994) p. 507. Encyclopædia Britannica (1978) states: "Hebrides – group of islands of the west coast of Scotland extending in an arc between 55.35 and 58.30 N and 5.26 and 8.40 W." These coordinates include Gigha, St Kilda and everything up to Cape Wrath – although not North Rona.
A complication is that there are various descriptions of the scope of the Hebrides. The Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland describes the Inner Hebrides as lying "east of the Minch". This definition would encompass all offshore islands, including those that lie in the sea lochs such as and , which might not ordinarily be described as "Hebridean". However, no formal definition exists.Keay & Keay (1994) p. 507. Encyclopædia Britannica, (1978) states: "Hebrides – group of islands of the west coast of Scotland extending in an arc between 55.35 and 58.30 N and 5.26 and 8.40 W." These coordinates include Gigha, St Kilda and everything up to Cape Wrath – although not North Rona.