Strontian (/strɒnˈtiːən/;[1] Scottish Gaelic: Sròn an t-Sìthein [s̪ɾɔːn̪ˠ ən̪ˠ ˈtʲiː.ɪn][2]) is the main village in Sunart, an area in western Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, on the A861 road.

The nearby hamlets of Anaheilt, Bellsgrove, and Upper and Lower Scotstown are now generally considered part of Strontian, with Polloch several miles away on the terminus of the road to Loch Shiel.

It has been postulated that it was emplaced in the shear zone termination of an offshoot of the Great Glen fault and that it may be diapiric in form.

The history of mining in the Strontian area dates to 1722, when Sir Alexander Murray discovered galena in the hills the region.

While there have been inhabitants of the area for centuries, particularly in the woods north of the current village, the community as it exists now was established in 1724 to provide homes for the local mining workers.

In 1790, Adair Crawford, a doctor, recognised that the Strontian ores exhibited different properties to those normally seen with other "heavy spars" sources.

I have called it Strontites, from the place it was found; a mode of derivation in my opinion, fully as proper as any quality it may possess, which is the present fashion".

The element was eventually isolated by Sir Humphry Davy in 1808 by the electrolysis of a mixture containing strontium chloride and mercuric oxide, and announced by him in a lecture to the Royal Society on 30 June 1808.

A number of complaints had previously been made to Sir James Riddell, local landowner and proprietor of the mines.

The legal action failed and was ruled out of order by the sheriff substitute, with 4 pounds 15 shillings in court costs.

[16] Ariundle Oakwood is a National Nature Reserve and surviving fragment of the native oak woods that once spread along the Atlantic coast from Spain to Norway.

A letter by Riddell to Graham Speirs, Esq., notes "I find it impossible, conscientiously, to grant sites for churches, manses, and schools, which would imply a sanction on my part, and give a perpetuity on my estates, to a system which I believe to be anti-social and anti-Christian.

"[23] An 1830 source describes it: "The village of Strontian is very pleasantly situated, directly at the head of Loch Sunart, the hills adjoining to which are crowned with beautiful and very thriving plantations.

[25] The Bounty Scheme, which ran from 1835 to 1841, was proposed by Edward Gibbon Wakefield as a way for Australian settlers to subsidise the emigration of skilled tradespeople from Britain.

[27] 'Strontian House' was built for Sir Alexander Murray of Stanhope in the late 1720s and was named after Colonel Horsy, Governor of the York Buildings Company.

Previously local students had to travel to Fort William, Mallaig, or Tobermory for high school, often staying in hostel accommodation and making journeys of up to 4 hours round-trip.

[31] Anaheilt (Scottish Gaelic: Àth na h-Èilde, meaning Ford of the Hind) is a village one mile (1.5 kilometres) north of Strontian.