Geography of Scotland


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. The only land border is with England, which runs for in a northeasterly direction from the Solway Firth in the west to the North Sea on the east coast. Separated by the North Channel, the island of Ireland lies from Mull of Kintyre on the Scottish mainland. Norway is located 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.
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. The faultline separates two distinctively different physiographic regions; namely the Highlands to the north and west and the Lowlands to the south and east. 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. Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, although Edinburgh is the capital and political centre of the country. 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. Today, energy is a major component of Scotland's economy. 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.

Geology and morphology

The land area of Scotland is, 32% of the area of the United Kingdom. The mainland of Scotland has of coastline.
The morphology of Scotland was formed by the action of tectonic plates, and subsequent erosion arising from glaciation. The major division of Scotland is the Highland Boundary Fault, which separates the land into 'highland' to the north and west, and 'lowland' to the south and east. The Scottish Highlands are largely mountainous, and form the highest ground in the UK: they are bisected by the Great Glen into the Grampian Mountains to the southeast and the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Lowlands can be further subdivided into the Southern Uplands, an area of rolling farmland and high moorland, and the lowland farmland of the Central Belt and eastern Scotland.
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, 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, 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.

Physical geography

Main points

The main points of the Scottish mainland are:
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. 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%.

Topography, mountains and hills

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, 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.
There are ranges of gentler, rolling hills even in the central lowlands of Scotland. Such ranges include the Ochil Hills, near Stirling, the Campsie Fells outside Glasgow, and the Lomond Hills in Fife.
Mountains in Scotland are categorised by their height. Peaks over are known as Munros. There are 282 Munros in Scotland, all within the Highlands. Corbetts are peaks with an altitude of between, with a relative height of at least . The classification of peaks in Scotland is kept under periodic review by the Scottish Mountaineering Club.

Coastline

Mainland Scotland has of coastline. Including the numerous islands, this increases to some. The west coast in particular is heavily indented, with long promontories separated by fjordlike sea 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.
The east coast has several significant estuaries and is home to nature reserves including the Ythan Estuary and Fowlsheugh, both of which have been designated as Important Bird Areas.
Firths around the Scottish coast include the Solway Firth, Firth of Clyde, and Firth of Lorne on the west coast, and the Cromarty Firth, Moray Firth, Firth of Tay, and Firth of Forth on the east coast. The Pentland Firth is not an inlet, but the strait that separates the Orkney Isles from the mainland.
Major sea lochs include Loch Fyne, Loch Long, Loch Ryan, Loch Linnhe, Loch Torridon, Loch Ewe and, on the Isle of Lewis, Loch Seaforth.

Islands

Scotland has over 900 islands, over 100 of which are inhabited. Most of the islands are located off the northern and western coast of the country. 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 Lewis and Harris 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.