INTRO TO SCOTLAND

Scotland is about half the size of England and spans close to 30,414 square miles. It is divided into three main regions; the Highlands, the Midland Valley and the Southern Uplands.

The territory of Scotland includes seven hundred and eighty-seven islands. In the north are two large groups, the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands. Close to the west coast are the Inner and Outer Hebrides groups, and the islands of Arran and Bute. Only sixty-two of the islands exceed three squared miles in area.

The coast of Scotland is deeply pierced by inlets from the sea. The larger inlets are called firths. Long, narrow inlets are called sea lochs. On the rugged west coast the sea lochs are framed by great cliffs and resemble the fjords of Norway.

Two hundred seventy-seven mountains rise above three thousand feet.

The Grampian and Highland Mountains are famous for their craggy beauty, the land is unsuitable for farming and since the eighteenth century has suffered from a steady decline of population. The Grampian and the northern Highlands are formed by geological sheets, which slide along lines of weakness, the Great Glen Fault.

The Midlands are geologically distinct from the surrounding regions. It is composed of Devonian Old Red Sandstone and peppered with ancient volcanoes.

The Lowlands run from southwest to northeast. The greatest distance is about ninety miles. There are only thirty miles across the narrow waist of Scotland. This is from the head of the Firth of Clyde in the west to the Firth of Forth in the east.

The climate ranges from the harsh and extreme weather of the highlands to the west coast that tends to have mild climates. The warm water of the Gulf Stream tempers the conditions on the west coast, making it milder and wetter. The east coast is usually cool and dry and the winds from the North Sea can be brutal.

The cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee together with numerous towns are home to most of the populations and the majority of Scotland’s industries are located within the Midland Valley.

Of the twenty-six rivers flowing directly into the sea, the most significant are Rivers Clyde, Forth, and Tay. They open into significant estuaries and support three of the major cities of Scotland, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.

Deborah Brent