The Mainland is the main island of

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The island contains Shetland's only

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

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 ...

, and is the centre of Shetland's ferry and air connections.

Geography

It has an area of , making it the third-largest Scottish island and the fifth largest of the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

after

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Lewis and Harris Lewis and Harris (), or Lewis with Harris, is a Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides, around from the Scottish mainland. With an area of (approximately 1% the size of Great Britain) it is the largest island in Scotland and the list of isl ...

and

Skye 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 o ...

. Mainland is the second most populous of the Scottish islands (surpassed only by

), and had 18,765 residents in 2011 compared to 17,550 in 2001. The mainland can be broadly divided into four sections: *The long

southern peninsula Southern Peninsula (, ) is an administrative unit and part of Reykjanesskagi (pronounced ), or Reykjanes Peninsula, a region in southwest Iceland. It was named after Reykjanes, the southwestern tip of Reykjanesskagi. The region has a populati ...

, south of Lerwick, has a mixture of moorland and farmland and contains many important

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

sites. **

Bigton Bigton is a small settlement on South Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. Bigton is within the civil parish of Dunrossness. Bigton lies on the Atlantic coast of the island overlooking St Ninian's Isle and within view is the island of Burra, further t ...

, Cunningsburgh, Sandwick,

Scalloway Scalloway (, name of the bay) is the largest settlement on the west coast of the Mainland, Shetland, Mainland, the largest island of the Shetland, Scotland. The village had a population of roughly 900, at the 2011 census. Now a fishing port, u ...

, and

Sumburgh Sumburgh is a small settlement in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Sumburgh is located at the south end of the Mainland on Sumburgh Head. Sumburgh Airport is just outside the village to the north. Sumburgh has a population of approximately 100. Ja ...

*The Central Mainland has more farmland and some woodland plantations. *The

West Mainland The West Mainland of the Shetland Islands is the part of the Shetland Mainland lying west of Aith (1° 23′ W). Geography Points of interest include: *Aith * Twatt * Sandness *Walls Walls may refer to: *The plural of wall, a structure * ...

Aith Aith, ( Shetland dialect: Eid, Old Norse: ''Eið'', meaning Isthmus, cf Eday), is a village on the Northern coast of the West Shetland Mainland, Scotland at the southern end of Aith Voe, some west of Lerwick. Aith lies on the B9071 that runs s ...

Walls Walls may refer to: *The plural of wall, a structure * Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places * Walls, Louisiana, United States * Walls, Mississippi, United States *Walls, Ontario Perry is a township (Canada), ...

, and

Sandness Sandness (the "d" is not pronounced locally) is a headland and district in the west of Shetland Mainland, Scotland. Sandness was a civil parish, which also included the island of Papa Stour some 1600 metres northwest across ''Papa Sound'' ...

*The

North Mainland The North Mainland of the Shetland Islands, Scotland is the part of the Shetland Mainland, Mainland lying north of Sullom Voe, Voe (60° 21′N). Geography Notable places in North Mainland include: *Sullom Voe, its oil terminal being an impo ...

– in particular the large

Northmavine Northmavine or Northmaven (from Old Norse , "north of the narrow isthmus") is a peninsula in Shetland forming the northernmost part of Mainland. The peninsula has historically formed a civil parish of the same name. The modern Northmavine comm ...

peninsula, connected to Mainland by a narrow

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

Mavis Grind Mavis Grind ( or ', meaning "gate of the narrow isthmus") is a narrow isthmus joining the Northmavine peninsula to the rest of the island of Mainland in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is just over 90 metres (295 ft) at its narrowest point. ...

– is wild, with much moorland and coastal

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

s. The North Mainland contains

Sullom Voe Sullom Voe is an eight-mile-long voe or inlet off Yell Sound in the Shetland Islands. It divides the Northmavine peninsula from the remainder of Mainland (the two are connected by an isthmus at the head of the voe known as Mavis Grind). It i ...

, the location of an oil terminal providing an important source of employment for islanders. **

Brae :''"Brae" is also the Lowland Scots language word for the slope or brow of a hill.'' Brae (Old Norse: ''Breiðeið'', meaning "the wide isthmus") is a village on the island of Mainland in Shetland, Scotland, United Kingdom. In it had a popula ...

North Roe North Roe is a village, and protected area at the northern tip in the large Northmavine peninsula of the Mainland of Shetland, Scotland. It is a small village, with a school with less than a dozen pupils in 2011. The village is served by the A9 ...

, and

Vidlin Vidlin (from Old Norse: ''Vaðill'' meaning a ford) is a small village located on Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. The settlement is within the parish of Nesting. History It is at the head of Vidlin Voe, and is the modern heart of the old parish ...

References

External links

Islands of Shetland {{Shetland-geo-stub

Geography

See also

References

External links