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Northern Isles
The Northern Isles (; ; ) are a chain (or archipelago) of Island, islands of Scotland, located off the north coast of the Scottish mainland. The climate is cool and temperate and highly influenced by the surrounding seas. There are two main island groups: Shetland and Orkney. There are a total of 36 inhabited islands, with the fertile agricultural islands of Orkney contrasting with the more rugged Shetland islands to the north, where the economy is more dependent on fishing and the oil wealth of the surrounding seas. Both archipelagos have a developing renewable energy industry. They share a common Picts, Pictish and Norse activity in the British Isles, Norse history, and were part of the Kingdom of Norway (872–1397), Kingdom of Norway before being absorbed into the Kingdom of Scotland in the 15th century. The islands played a significant naval role during the World war, world wars of the 20th century. Tourism is important to both archipelagos, with their distinctive prehisto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ward Hill, Hoy
Ward Hill is a hill on the island of Hoy in Orkney, Scotland. It lies at the north of the island between Moaness and Rackwick, and is the highest point in both Orkney and the Scottish Northern Isles at an elevation of . The hill forms a curved ridge, reminiscent of a 'J' in shape. The lower slopes are covered in heather and grass, though the top of the ridge is covered in small stones with bare sandy soil. The highest summit is towards the northern end and is crowned by a trig point. The ridge is well separated from the other hills of Hoy, and both the other Marilyns on the island have high topographic prominence. Ward Hill is separated from Cuilags by the Glens of Kinnaird, and from Knap of Trowieglen by the glen carrying the road between Moaness and Rackwick, in which lies the Dwarfie Stane. The existence of '' Anastrepta orcadensis'' (also known as Orkney Notchwort), a liverwort found in the United States, Canada, and widely in Europe, was first discovered on Ward Hill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Island Of Stroma
Stroma is an uninhabited island in the Pentland Firth, between Orkney and the mainland of Scotland. It forms part of the Civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish of Canisbay in Caithness, in the council area of Highland (council area), Highland. The name comes from the Old Norse ''Straumey'', meaning "island in the current". Ancient stone structures testify to the presence of Stroma's earliest residents, while a Norse presence around 900–1,000 years ago is recorded in the ''Orkneyinga Saga''. It has been politically united with Caithness since at least the 15th century. Although Stroma lies only a few miles off the Scottish coast, the savage weather and ferociously strong tides of the Pentland Firth meant that the island's inhabitants were very isolated, causing them to be largely self-sufficient, trading agricultural produce and fish with the mainlanders. Most of the islanders were fishermen and crofting, crofters; some also worked as maritime pilots to guide vessels throu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lerwick
Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred off the north coast of the Scottish mainland and on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland, Lerwick lies boxing the compass, north-by-northeast of Aberdeen; west of the similarly sheltered port of Bergen in Norway; and south east of Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands. One of the list of coastal weather stations of the United Kingdom, UK's coastal weather stations is situated there, with Lerwick#Climate, the local climate having small seasonal variation due to the maritime influence. Being located further north than Saint Petersburg and three of the four mainland Scandinavia, Nordic capitals, and on the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska, Lerwick's nights in the middle of summer only get dark twilight and winters have below six hours of comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Islands Of Scotland
This is a list of islands of Scotland, the mainland of which is part of the island of Great Britain. Also included are various other related tables and lists. The definition of an offshore island used in this list is "land that is surrounded by seawater on a daily basis, but not necessarily at all stages of the tide, excluding human devices such as bridges and causeways". Scotland has around 900 offshore islands, most of which are to be found in four main groups: Shetland Islands, Shetland, Orkney Islands, Orkney, and the Hebrides, sub-divided into the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. There are also clusters of islands in the Firth of Clyde, Firth of Forth, and Solway Firth, and numerous small islands within the many bodies of fresh water in Scotland including Loch Lomond and Loch Maree. The largest island is Lewis and Harris, which extends to , and there are a further 200 islands which are greater than in area. Of the remainder, several, such as Staffa and the Flannan Isles, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mainland, Orkney
The Mainland, also known as Pomona, is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's population live on the island, which is more densely populated than the other islands of the archipelago. The lengthy history of the island's occupation has provided numerous important archaeological sites and the sandstone bedrock provides a platform for fertile farmland. There is an abundance of wildlife, especially seabirds. Etymology The name Mainland is a Language change, corruption of the Old Norse . Formerly the island was also known as meaning 'horse island'. The island is sometimes referred to as ''Pomona (mythology), Pomona'' (or ''Pomonia''), a name that stems from a 16th-century mis-translation by George Buchanan.Buchanan, George (1582''Rerum Scoticarum Historia: The First Book''The University of California, Irvine. Revised 8 Marc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pentland Firth
The Pentland Firth (, meaning the Orcadian Strait) is a strait which separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. Despite the name, it is not a firth. Etymology The name is presumed to be a corruption of the Old Norse "Petlandsfjörð", meaning "the fjord of Pictland", and is completely unrelated to the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh. Prior to the Norse occupation of Orkney the strait was known as the "Sea of Orcs" – a reference to the Pictish tribe who inhabited Orkney. Such was their marine prowess that there are also instances of this name referring to the sea lanes of the entire west coast of Scotland down to Kintyre. One version of the 9th-century '' Historia Brittonum'' states that "the Britons originally filled the whole island with their peoples from the English Channel to the Sea of Orcs". Geography On the Caithness (southern) side the Firth extends from Dunnet Head in the west to Duncansby Head in the east, while on the Orkney (norther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Outlying Islands Of Scotland
The outlying islands of Scotland are not part of the larger archipelagos and island groups of Scotland—the Hebrides, the Northern Isles or the Islands of the Forth and Islands of the Clyde, Clyde estuaries. None of these islands are currently inhabited and few of them ever were, although Hirta was occupied from the Neolithic age until 1930 and Stroma, Scotland, Stroma was permanently occupied until the 1970s and thereafter by lighthouse keepers and their families until 1996. Several other outlying islands have lighthouses, none of which is still staffed. In this list, an island is defined as "land that is surrounded by seawater on a daily basis, but not necessarily at all stages of the tide, excluding human devices such as bridges and causeways". A complication relating to membership of this list is that there are various descriptions of the scope of the Hebrides, the large group of islands that lie off Scotland's west coast. The ''Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland'' describe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sule Stack
Sule Stack or Stack Skerry is an extremely remote island or stack in the North Atlantic off the north coast of Scotland. It is formed of Lewisian gneiss. Sule Stack lies north of the Scottish mainland, and west of the Orkney mainland, at . Sule Stack's sole neighbour, Sule Skerry, lies northeast and the remote islands of Rona and Sula Sgeir lie further to the west. Sule Stack and Sule Skerry are home to thousands of gannets and as a result are listed as a special protection area; the island falls within the administrative region of the Orkney Islands. The island (along with Sule Skerry) has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports breeding populations of several species of seabirds. Bird species nesting on the stack include: *Razorbill ''Alca torda'' *Atlantic puffin ''Fratercula arctica'' *Fulmar ''Fulmarus glacialis'' *Great black-backed gull ''Larus marinus'' * Common shag '' Phalacroco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sule Skerry
Sule Skerry is a remote skerry in the North Atlantic off the north coast of Scotland. Geography Sule Skerry lies west of the Orkney Mainland at . Sule Skerry's sole neighbour, Sule Stack, lies to the southwest; the remote islands of Rona and Sula Sgeir lie approximately further west. Sule Skerry and Sule Stack are both a part of the Orkney Islands council area. Sule Skerry is in area and about long. It reaches a height of . Pub. 141, Scotland. It is formed of |
Foula
Foula (), located in the Shetland archipelago of Scotland, is one of the United Kingdom's most remote permanently inhabited islands. The liner RMS ''Oceanic'' was wrecked on the Shaalds of Foula in 1914. Foula was the location for the film '' The Edge of the World'' (1937). Toponym The name "Foula" comes from the Old Norse ''Fugley'' 'bird island'. On some early Modern maps (such as Willem Blaeu's 1654 map of Orkney and Shetland), it is called Fule or Thule. The former – pronounced "foo-lay"– is just an alternative spelling of Foula. The latter is due to ancient sources – notably Tacitus' ''Agricola'' – often locating the mythical land of Thule in the Shetland Islands region, and the phonetic closeness of the island's name. However, the Ancient Norse name post-dates the Thule narrative and is not connected to it. Geography Foula lies in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Walls on Mainland, Shetland. It was part of Walls civil parish and now is in the parish of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fair Isle
Fair Isle ( ; ), sometimes Fairisle, is the southernmost Shetland island, situated roughly from the Shetland Mainland and about from North Ronaldsay (the most northerly island of Orkney). The entire archipelago lies off the northernmost coast of Scotland, in the North Sea. As the most remote inhabited island in the United Kingdom (and among the most northerly settlements in Great Britain), Fair Isle is known for its wild bird observatory, interesting historic shipwrecks, Scottish and Shetland-style traditional music, and its traditional style of knitting, also called " Fair Isle". The island has been owned by the National Trust for Scotland since 1954. History Fair Isle has been occupied since Neolithic times, which is remarkable given the lack of raw materials on the island, although it is surrounded by rich fishing waters. There are two known Iron Age sites: a promontory fort at Landberg and the foundations of a house underlying an early Christian settlement at Kirkigeo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Council Areas Of Scotland
For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" (), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Scotland) Act 1997 of being known (but not re-designated) as a "''comhairle''" when opting for a Gaelic name; only ''Comhairle nan Eilean Siar'' (Council of the Western Isles) has chosen this option, whereas the Highland Council (''Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd'') has adopted its Gaelic form alongside its English equivalent, informally. The council areas have been in existence since 1 April 1996, under the provisions of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. Historically, Scotland was divided into 34 counties or shires. Although these no longer have any administrative function, they are still used to some extent in Scotland for cultural and geographical purposes, and some of the current council areas are named after them. There are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
