The geography of Scotland is varied from rural lowlands to unspoilt uplands, and from large cities to sparsely inhabited islands. Located in Northern Europe, Scotland comprises the northern part of the island of Great Britain as well as 790 surrounding islands encompassing the major archipelagos of the Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands and the Inner and Outer Hebrides.[3] The only land border is with England, which runs for 96 miles (154 kilometres) in a northeasterly direction from the Solway Firth in the west to the North Sea on the east coast.[4] Separated by the North Channel, the island of Ireland lies 13 nautical miles (24 kilometres) from Mull of Kintyre on the Scottish mainland.[5] Norway is located 190nmi (350km) northeast of Scotland across the North Sea. The Atlantic Ocean, which fringes the coastline of western and northern Scotland and its islands, influences the temperate, maritime climate of the country.[6]
Scotland contains the majority of mountainous terrain in the UK. The topography of Scotland is distinguished by the Highland Boundary Fault which traverses the Scottish mainland from Helensburgh to Stonehaven.[7] The faultline separates two distinctively different physiographic regions; namely the Highlands to the north and west and the Lowlands to the south and east.[8] The more rugged Highland region contains the majority of Scotland's mountainous terrain, including the highest peak, Ben Nevis.
Lowland areas, in the southern part of Scotland, are less mountainous and home to most of the population, especially the narrow waist of land between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth known as the Central Belt.[8]Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, although Edinburgh is the capital and political centre of the country.[9] While the Lowlands are less elevated, upland and mountainous terrain is located across the Southern Uplands.
An abundance of natural resources such as coal, iron and zinc contributed significantly to the industrial growth of Scotland during the 19th and early 20th centuries.[10] Today, energy is a major component of Scotland's economy.[11] Whilst Scotland is a large producer of petroleum, the production potential of renewable energy has emerged as an important economic and environmental issue in recent years.[12]
The land area of Scotland is 30,090 square miles (77,900km2), 32% of the area of the United Kingdom (UK). The mainland of Scotland has 6,160 miles (9,910km) of coastline.
Scotland has an incomparable variety of geology for an area of its size.
The oldest rocks of Scotland are the Lewisian gneisses, which were formed in the Precambrian period, up to 3 billion years ago. They are among the oldest rocks in the world. During the Precambrian, the Torridonian sandstones and the Moine were also laid down. Further sedimentary deposits were formed through the Cambrian period, some of which metamorphosed into the Dalradian series. The area which would become Scotland was at this time close to the south pole.
During the Silurian period (439–409 Ma), the area which became Scotland was part of the continent of Laurentia. Across the Iapetus Ocean to the south, was the continent of Baltica. The two continents gradually collided, joining Scotland to the area which would become England and Europe. This event is known as the Caledonian Orogeny, and the Highland Boundary Fault marks this stitching together of continents. Silurian rocks form the Southern Uplands of Scotland, which was pushed up from the seabed during the collision. The highlands were also pushed up as a result of this collision, and may have been as high as the modern-day Alps at this time. The Old Red Sandstones were laid down in low-lying areas during this period. Volcanic activity occurred across Scotland as a result of the collision of the tectonic plates, with volcanoes in southern Scotland, and magma chambers in the north, which today form the granite mountains such as the Cairngorms.
During the Carboniferous period (363–290 Ma), Scotland lay close to the equator. Several changes in sea level occurred during this time. The coal deposits of Lanarkshire, and further sedimentary deposits, date from this time. More volcanic activity formed Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, among other hills. By the Triassic, Scotland was a desert, the origin of large sandstone outcrops of the southwest. Although large deposits of Cretaceous rocks would have been laid down over Scotland, these have not survived erosion, as have the chalks of England.
By the Tertiary period, the tectonic plates were again moving, separating into modern-day North America and Europe with the creation of the Atlantic Ocean. The split occurred to the west of Scotland, leaving a chain of former volcanic sites through the Hebrides, including Skye and St. Kilda. This was the last period of rock formation in Scotland.
It is often yet incorrectly stated that John o' Groats is the most northerly point of mainland Scotland. The pre-Union phrase "John o' Groats to Maidenkirk" was the Scottish equivalent of the British Land's End to John o' Groats.
The extreme points of Scotland, including outlying islands, are:
The geographical centre of Scotland lies a few miles from the village of Newtonmore in Badenoch, far to the north of the modern population heartlands.[13] The geographical centre of the mainland alone lies near the peak of Schiehallion.
Land use
The total land area of Scotland is 8,023,947 hectares. Grasses and rough grazing account for 67% of the land area, forest and woodland 17%, urban development 8%, crops and fallow 7%, and other agricultural land accounts for 2%.[14]
Ben Nevis is the highest peak in Great Britain.Large parts of the Scottish coastline are dune pasture, such as here at Traigh Seilebost on the Isle of Harris.30A map of British Isles EEZs and surrounding nations. Internal UK borders are represented by thin lines.Scotland's EEZ is highlighted in blue.
Scotland contains the most mountainous terrain in Great Britain. Much of the highest uplands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault in the Northwest Highlands and Grampian ranges. The jagged Cuillin, on the Isle of Skye, represents a major mountain range that is not located on the Scottish mainland. Located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains, at an elevation of 1,345m (4,413ft), Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Scotland and Great Britain. Ben Macdui and Braeriach are, respectively, the second and third tallest peaks in Scotland. Both are located in the Cairngorms, a mountain range in the eastern Highlands which is the highest upland area in Britain.
In the south of Scotland lie the Southern Uplands, a vast, rolling mountain chain that is less rugged and more forested than the Highlands. Shorter than the Highlands, the tallest mountain in the range is Merrick, at 843m (2,766ft).
Mountains in Scotland are categorised by their height. Peaks over 3,000ft (914.4m) are known as Munros.[15] There are 282 Munros in Scotland, all within the Highlands.[15]Corbetts are peaks with an altitude of between 2,500 and 3,000ft (762.0 and 914.4m), with a relative height of at least 500ft (152.4m) .[15] The classification of peaks in Scotland is kept under periodic review by the Scottish Mountaineering Club.[15]
Mainland Scotland has 6,160 miles (9,910km) of coastline. Including the numerous islands, this increases to some 11,602 miles (18,672km).[16] The west coast in particular is heavily indented, with long promontories separated by fjordlikesea lochs. The east coast is more regular, with a series of large estuarine inlets, or firths, and long sandy beaches, for example at Aberdeen. Parts of the Scottish coastline consist of a machair formation, a dune pasture land formed as sea levels subsided.[17]
Scotland has over 900 islands, over 100 of which are inhabited.[16] Most of the islands are located off the northern and western coast of the country.[18] The northern and western islands of Scotland can be found in three main groups: Shetland, Orkney and the Hebrides which can be divided into the Inner Hebrides and the Outer Hebrides. Shetland and Orkney, together with Fair Isle and Stroma are referred to as the Northern Isles. With a total land area of 860 square miles (2,200km2)Lewis and Harris (referred to as two islands but actually just one) is the largest Scottish island.
Many of these offshore islands are swept by strong tides, and the Corryvreckan tide race between Scarba and Jura is one of the largest whirlpools in the world. Other strong tides are to be found in the Pentland Firth between mainland Scotland and Orkney, and the Grey Dog between Scarba and Lunga. There are also numerous clusters of islands in the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde and in freshwater lochs such as Loch Lomond and Loch Maree. Outlying islands include St Kilda and Rockall the status of which is disputed.
Scotland's islands have a varied topography. Mull, Skye and Arran are noted for their mountainous terrain, whilst Tiree and Coll are flat or low lying. Striking topographical differences can be seen within island groups themselves; in Orkney, the Island of Hoy is hillier and more rugged than surrounding islands and Harris is distinctive in being more mountainous than the islands of Lewis, North Uist, South Uist and Barra, in the Outer Hebrides. Islay's terrain is gentle and rolling; however, its neighbour Jura is mountainous and rugged. Rùm and Eigg display jagged terrain; nearby Canna and Muck are flatter.
Fresh water bodies in Scotland are known as lochs, with the exception of the Lake of Menteith and one or two-man-made "lakes". 90% of the standing fresh water volume of Great Britain lies within Scotland.[20]Loch Lomond is the largest freshwater body in Britain by area, although with a capacity of 1.78 cubic miles (7.4km3)Loch Ness is the most voluminous. The water in Loch Ness is nearly double that of all the lakes of England and Wales combined, and is by volume the largest lake in the UK and Ireland.[21][22]
Scotland's only land border is with England, and runs for approximately 60 miles (100 kilometres) between the basin of the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast and the North Sea is to the east. The island of Ireland lies only 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres) from the southwestern peninsula of Kintyre;[4] Norway is 190nmi (350km) to the east; the Faroes, 170nmi (310km) to the north; and Iceland, 460nmi (850km) to the northwest.
Climate graph for Edinburgh. Mild temperatures and evenly distributed rainfall, throughout the year, are characteristic of Scotland's temperate, maritime climate.
The climate of Scotland is temperate and very changeable, but rarely extreme.[6] Scotland is warmed by the North Atlantic Drift and given the northerly location of the country, experiences much milder conditions than areas on similar latitudes, such as Labrador in Canada—where icebergs are a common feature in winter.[6]
Average temperatures are lower than in the rest of Great Britain, with the coldest ever UK temperature of −27.2°C (−17.0°F) recorded at Braemar in the Grampian Mountains, on 10 January 1982 and also at Altnaharra, Highland, on 30 December 1995.[6] Winter maxima average 5.0 to 5.7°C (41.0 to 42.3°F), with summer maxima averaging 14.9 to 16.9°C (58.8 to 62.4°F).[23] Western coastal areas of Scotland are warmer than the east and inland areas, due to the influence of the Atlantic currents, and the colder surface temperatures of the North Sea; however, during rare hot spells, the west is cooler than the east.[24] The highest temperature recorded was 32.9°C (91.2°F) at Greycrook in the Scottish Borders on 9 August 2003.[6] Areas such as Inverewe Garden in the northwest and the Logan Botanic Garden in the southwest have warm enough microclimates to support palm trees.
Rainfall totals vary widely across Scotland—the western highlands of Scotland are one of the wettest places in the UK with annual rainfall up to 4,577mm (180.2in).[25] Due to the mountainous topography of the western Highlands, this type of precipitation is orographic in nature, with the warm, wet air forced to rise on contact with the mountainous coast, where it consequently, cools and condenses, forming clouds.[26] In comparison, much of eastern Scotland receives less than 870mm (34.3in) annually; lying in the rain shadow of the western uplands.[25] The town of Dunbar, east of Edinburgh, has an annual rainfall of merely 560.18mm (22.05in), less than Barcelona. Snowfall is less common in the lowlands, but becomes more common with altitude. Parts of the Highlands have an average of 36 to 60 snow days per year,[27] while some western coastal areas have between 0 and 6 days with snow a year.[27] Scotland's snowiest spot is the Cairngorm mountain range.
Sunshine on the coastline at Ceann a' Mhara near Tiree
The Hebridean island of Tiree received a total of 329 hours of sunshine in May 1946 and again in May 1975, the highest number of sunshine hours ever recorded in one month in Scotland.[6] On the longest day of the year there is no complete darkness over the northern isles of Scotland. Lerwick, in Shetland, has four hours more daylight at midsummer than London, although this is reversed in midwinter.[6] Annual average sunshine totals vary from as little as 711–1140 hours in the Highlands and the north-west up to 1471–1540 hours on the extreme eastern and south-western coasts.[28]
In common with the rest of the UK and Ireland, wind prevails from the south-west, bringing warm, wet and unstable air from the Atlantic.[6] The windiest areas of Scotland are in the north and west, with parts of the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland experiencing over 30 days with gales per year.[6] Vigorous Atlantic depressions, also known as European windstorms, are a common feature of the autumn and winter in Scotland.[29]
In northern and western areas, many people live in small crofting townships such as here on the Isle of Skye.
According to the General Register Office for Scotland, the total population of Scotland stood at 5,168,500 in June 2008, an increase of 2.1% since the census of April 2001.[30] Scotland's share of the United Kingdom population has been declining in recent years and stands at just over 8.5% due to differential rates of growth in the home nations.[31] However, an increasing birth rate[32] and higher levels of inward migration to Scotland have reversed the decline and contributed to the recent population growth.[30]
Compared with the rest of Europe, Scotland has a low population density at 65 people per square kilometre.[33] However Scotland is a highly urbanised country, with 82% of the population living in settlements of 3,000 people or more.[34] As a result, the majority of the population live in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, surrounding the chief cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.[35] Other concentrations of population include the northeast coast of Scotland – principally surrounding the city of Aberdeen and its environs – and around Inverness.[35] With a population density of 8 people per square kilometre, the Highlands are the most sparsely populated part of the country, and one of the most sparsely populated areas in Europe. In these areas, the population is scattered in villages, small towns and isolated farmsteads or crofts.[34]
The city of Inverness is often regarded as the Capital of the Highlands
Nearly 100 of Scotland's islands are inhabited, the most populous being Lewis and Harris with 21,031 people resident in 2011, primarily concentrated around Stornoway, the only burgh of the Outer Hebrides.[36][37] Other island populations range down to very low levels on certain small isles.[36] Between 1991 and 2001, the total number of people living on Scotland's islands fell by 3%.[36] Conversely, islands such as Tiree, Skye and Eigg experienced increases in their respective populations over the same decade.[36]
There are eight cities in Scotland; Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Perth, Dunfermline and Stirling. The 2001 census identified Glasgow as being the largest city in Scotland, with a total population of 629,501, while the Scottish capital, Edinburgh had a population of 448,624, in the same year.[38] Between 1991 and 2001, the populations of Edinburgh and Stirling grew by 2.9% and 6.5% respectively.[38] Inverness experienced population growth of over 10% during the same period.[39] At the same time, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen all witnessed population decline.[38] Aside from the cities, the greatest intra-census population growth was experienced in the local authorities of West Lothian, East Lothian, Aberdeenshire and Perth and Kinross.[38] The Western Isles saw a 9.8% decrease in population between 1991 and 2001.[38]
North Ayrshire's population is split across two areas; the main area on Scotland's west coast, and the Isle of Arran, separated from the mainland by the Firth of Clyde
Major towns in Scotland based on population include Paisley, East Kilbride, Kilmarnock, Livingston, Hamilton, Ayr, Cumbernauld, Irvine, Coatbridge and Wishaw.[40] Paisley is commonly referred to as Scotland's largest town,[41] having a population of 77,270 in 2020, a larger population than four Scottish cities – Dunfermline (54,990), Inverness (47,790), Perth (47,350) and Stirling (37,910).[42] Towns such as Cumbernauld, East Kilbride and Stonehouse were largely created or expanded as new towns in order to combat the overpopulation and overspill in Scotland's largest cities – Glasgow and Edinburgh. Other new towns in Scotland include Glenrothes, Irvine and Livingston.[43][44][45][46][47][48]
Glasgow City is the largest of the subdivisions of Scotland in both population and area terms, with a population of 622,820 in 2022 and covering 175km2. This is followed by City of Edinburgh with a population of 514,990 in 2022, Fife with a population of 371,340, North Lanarkshire with 340,930 and South Lanarkshire with 327,430.[49] Despite being the largest subdivision in Scotland by area, Highland has a combined population of 235,710, making it the seventh largest subdivision in the country by population. Similarly, despite having a smaller area than its boundary neighbours East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire, North Ayrshire has the largest population of the former Ayrshire counties, with a population of 133,490 people across an area of 885km2. In contrast, East Ayrshire has a population of 120,390 people across 1,262km2, whilst South Ayrshire with an area of 1,222km2 has a population of 111,560.[50]
Political geography
The territorial extent of Scotland has been relatively unchanged since the late 15th Century.
The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and England[51] and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway.[52] Exceptions include: the Isle of Man, which having been lost to England in the 14th century is now a crown dependency outside of the United Kingdom, the acquisition of Orkney and Shetland from Norway in 1472,[53] and the permanent recovery of Berwick by England in 1482.[54] Originally an independent country, Scotland joined with England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 with the Acts of Union.
Rockall, a small and uninhabitable rocky islet in the North Atlantic, was annexed by the UK in 1955 and later declared part of Scotland by the Island of Rockall Act 1972.[55][56] However, the legality of this claim is disputed by the Republic of Ireland, Denmark and Iceland and it is probably unenforceable in international law.[57][58]
The latest election to the Scottish Parliament in 2021 concluded with the SNP winning a fourth consecutive term in government, winning 64 seats and an increase of one. The SNP gained Edinburgh Central, Ayr, and East Lothian as well as winning the largest share of the popular vote and the largest number of constituency seats in any Scottish Parliament election (62).[59] The Greens won 8 seats, their best result to date at a Scottish Parliament election, while the Conservatives retained second place with 31 seats. Labour had its worst-ever result with 22 seats, and the lowest share of the vote in both Constituency & List votes for either Westminster or Holyrood since 1910. The Lib Dems won four seats, their worst showing at a Holyrood election to date.[60]
The SNP and the Greens, both of which support Scottish independence, won 72 of the 129 seats in the parliament. Unionist parties achieved a slight majority of votes in constituency contests, whilst pro-independence parties did the same in the regional list votes.[61] Voter turnout in the election reached 63.5%, the highest ever at a Scottish Parliament election. Following the election, the third Sturgeon government was formed, initially consisting of just the SNP but later including the appointment of Slater and Harvie as junior ministers, after the two parties negotiated a power-sharing agreement.[62]
For centuries, a core aspect of Scotland's political geography has been the general divide between the Highlands and the Lowlands, a divide both physical and cultural. The physical geography of the divide (via the Highland Boundary Fault) and the political geography of the divide greatly overlap but are not identical. Despite any suggestiveness of the etymons "high" and "low", the division of Highlands and Lowlands does not thoroughly correspond either to elevation or to latitude in the sense of Northern Scotland and Southern Scotland being "upper" and "lower" (as north and south are often termed in various countries), and yet interestingly, the division does bear some noticeable degree of correspondence to both elevation and latitude, with upward and northward both tending toward stronger Highlander identity, more preservation of Gaelic versus Scots, and other political differentials (e.g., in previous centuries, degree of Unionism, degree of Jacobitism, and others).[original research?]
The Economy of Glasgow encompasses the largest municipal and regional economy in Scotland. It is recognised as the largest contributor to the Scottish economy, and is the largest integrated economic region in Scotland and produces around a third of Scotland's output, business base, research power and employment. By Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, Glasgow City is the second highest amongst Scottish areas, behind, Edinburgh, and ahead of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.[66] In 2021, Glasgow's GDP was estimated at just under 25.8 billion pounds,[67] with an estimated £48billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2021.[68] Glasgow is a member of the Core Cities Group, a self-selected and self-financed collaborative advocacy group of large regional cities in the United Kingdom outside Greater London and Edinburgh. The group was formed in 1995 and serves as a partnership of eleven city councils.
The oil industry is largely centred off the coast of Aberdeen
Both the Economy of Glasgow and the Economy of Edinburgh contribute to the central belt of Scotland being one of the 20 largest urban regions in Europe.[69] Based on Gross Value Added (GVA) and GVA per head figures in 2015, Glasgow's economy was the fifth largest amongst the cities of the United Kingdom.[70][71]
The petroleum industry in Aberdeen, the third most populous city in Scotland, began in the mid-20th century following the discovery of significant oil deposits in the North Sea. Aberdeen has been characterised as the "oil capital" of Scotland, the United Kingdom, as well as Europe as a whole.[72][73][74] Traditionally Aberdeen was home to fishing, textile mills, ship building and paper making. These industries have mostly gone and have been replaced with high technology developments in the electronics design and development industry, research in agriculture and fishing, and the oil industry which has been largely responsible for Aberdeen's economic boom in the last three decades.[75]
The Islands of the Firth of Clyde are the fifth largest of the major Scottish island groups after the Inner and Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland. They are situated in the Firth of Clyde between Argyll and Bute in the west and Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire in the east. There are about forty islands and skerries. Only four are inhabited, and only nine are larger than 40 hectares. The largest and most populous are Arran and Bute. They are served by dedicated ferry routes, as are Great Cumbrae and Holy Island. Unlike the isles in the four larger Scottish archipelagos, none of the isles in this group are connected to one another or to the mainland by bridges.
The Highlands is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.
The United Kingdom is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The United Kingdom is made up of four countries – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. With a total area of approximately 244,376 square kilometres (94,354 sq mi), the UK occupies the major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and many smaller surrounding islands. It is the world's 7th largest island country. The mainland areas lie between latitudes 49°N and 59°N, and longitudes 8°W to 2°E. The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in south-east London, is the defining point of the Prime Meridian.
The Outer Hebrides or Western Isles, sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. The islands form part of the archipelago of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the waters of the Minch, the Little Minch, and the Sea of the Hebrides. The Outer Hebrides are considered to be the traditional heartland of the Gaelic language. The islands form one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, which since 1998 has used only the Gaelic form of its name, including in English language contexts. The council area is called Na h-Eileanan an Iar and its council is Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.
Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It has land borders with the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Moray and Perth and Kinross. The wider upland area of the Scottish Highlands after which the council area is named extends beyond the Highland council area into all the neighbouring council areas plus Angus and Stirling.
Harris is the southern and more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Although not an island itself, Harris is often referred to in opposition to the Isle of Lewis as the Isle of Harris, which is the former postal county and the current post town for Royal Mail postcodes starting HS3 or HS5.
Ross and Cromarty, is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a county.
Ross is an area of Scotland. It was first recorded in the tenth century as a province, at which time it was under Norwegian overlordship. It was claimed by the Scottish crown in 1098, and from the 12th century Ross was an earldom. From 1661 there was a county of Ross, also known as Ross-shire, covering most but not all of the province, in particular excluding Cromartyshire. Cromartyshire was subsequently merged with the county of Ross in 1889 to form the county of Ross and Cromarty. The area is now part of the Highland council area.
The Gàidhealtachd usually refers to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and especially the Scottish Gaelic-speaking culture of the area. The similar Irish language word Gaeltacht refers, however, solely to Irish-speaking areas.
The Southern Uplands are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas. The term is used both to describe the geographical region and to collectively denote the various ranges of hills and mountains within this region. An overwhelmingly rural and agricultural region, the Southern Uplands are partly forested and contain many areas of open moorland - the hill names in the area are congruent with these characteristics.
Transport in Scotland is facilitated by road, rail, air and water networks. The Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament has control over most elements of transport policy within Scotland, with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport holding portfolio responsibility within the Scottish Government. Transport Scotland is the Executive Agency responsible for the Scottish transport network.
The geology of Scotland is unusually varied for a country of its size, with a large number of different geological features. There are three main geographical sub-divisions: the Highlands and Islands is a diverse area which lies to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault; the Central Lowlands is a rift valley mainly comprising Palaeozoic formations; and the Southern Uplands, which lie south of the Southern Uplands Fault, are largely composed of Silurian deposits.
The Central Lowlands, sometimes called the Midland Valley or Central Valley, is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and the Southern Uplands Fault to the south. The Central Lowlands are one of the three main geographical sub-divisions of Scotland, the other two being the Highlands and Islands which lie to the north, northwest and the Southern Uplands, which lie south of the associated second fault line. It is the most populated of Scotland’s three geographical regions.
Ross-shire, or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enclaves or exclaves scattered throughout Ross-shire's territory. The mainland had a coast to the east onto the Moray Firth and a coast to the west onto the Minch. Ross-shire was named after and covered most of the ancient province of Ross, and also included the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The county town was Dingwall.
Lewis and Harris, or Lewis with Harris, is a Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides, around 24 miles (39 km) from the Scottish mainland.
The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Although Sgitheanach has been suggested to describe a winged shape, no definitive agreement exists as to the name's origin.
Inverness-shire or the County of Inverness, is a historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Highlands and some of the Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county by land area. It is generally rural and sparsely populated, containing only three towns which held burgh status, being Inverness, Fort William and Kingussie. The county is crossed by the Great Glen, which contains Loch Ness and separates the Grampian Mountains to the south-east from the Northwest Highlands. The county also includes Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in both Scotland and the United Kingdom.
Scotland is a country which is part of the United Kingdom, having previously been an independent, sovereign country prior to the 1707 union with England. Established in 843, this would make Scotland the second oldest country in Europe and the fifth oldest country in the world. It's monarchy is amongst the oldest in the world, and is the oldest recorded monarchy in Europe.
Scotland occupies the northern part of the British Isles. The landscape of the country is diverse; ranging from rugged mountain terrain to arable flat land with many rivers and lochs.
↑ National Statistics (2004). UK 2005. The Official Yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. London: The Stationery Office. p.279. ISBN0-11-621738-3.
↑ "On this day – 21 September"BBC. Retrieved 22 September 2007. "In 1972 the Isle of Rockall Act was passed, which made the rock officially part of Inverness-shire, Scotland."
↑ "Daily Hansard" 24 June 1997. Parliament.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
↑ MacDonald, Fraser (2006) The last outpost of Empire: Rockall and the Cold War. Journal of Historical Geography 32. P627–647. available in pdfArchived 18 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine
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