Ullapool is a village of around 1,500 occupants in Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands, situated around 45 miles (72 kilometres) north-west of Inverness. Despite its little size it is the biggest settlement for several miles about, as well as a crucial port and vacationer destination. The North Atlantic Drift passes Ullapool, regulating the temperature level. A few Cordyline australis (New Zealand cabbage trees) are grown in the town and are often incorrect for palm trees. The community lies on Loch Broom, on the A835 road from Inverness. The Ullapool River streams through the village. On the east coast of Loch Broom, Ullapool was founded in 1788 as a herring port by the British Fisheries Society. It was created by Thomas Telford. Prior to then the town was only an irrelevant hamlet of simply over 20 households. The harbour is still the side of the town, made use of as an angling port, yacht place, and ferryboat port. Ferries sail to Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides. The town was historically in Cromartyshire, a county comprised of many separate territories scattered across northern Ross-shire. Cromartyshire was eliminated and also incorporated with surrounding Ross-shire in 1890. A lot of the crucial discoveries of the Victorian age that contributed to the growth of the concept of plate tectonics were made in this field, and also there are still routine worldwide geological seminars. It is called the top geological hotspot in Scotland. Parliament granted permission in the 1890s for a railway from Ullapool to the main Highland network at Garve, however the system was deserted due to inadequate funds. The name is perhaps derived from the Norse for "Wool farm" or "Ulli's farm".