Geography of Scotland

This article discusses the geography of Scotland. Scotland belongs to the northern part of the island of Great Britain (the "mainland") and the Islands (groups) around it.

The Mainland is divided into three geographical and geological areas, from North to South:

The majority of the population lives in the Central Belt, where four of the five major cities are.
 * the generally mountainous Highlands in the North;
 * the low-lying Central Belt South of the Highlands;
 * the hilly Southern uplands in the South;
 * The largest island groups are:
 * the Shetland Islands
 * the Orkney Islands
 * the Hebrides, divided into:
 * the inner Hebrides
 * the Outer Hebrides



Content
[hide] *1 Cities  ==Cities[ Edit] == ===Largest cities[ Edit] === ===Other cities[ Edit] === ===See also[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === By look at a loch==Coastline<span class="mw-editsection" len="338" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Mainland Scotland has a coastline of 9911 km (6158 miles). Including all islands is the coastline about 16.490 kilometers. The west coast has deep bays. The East Coast is more evenly, but does have many large firths and estuaries or sandy beaches, for example at Aberdeen. ==Islands<span class="mw-editsection" len="338" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Scotland has about 790 Islands, most of which for the North and west coast. Most northern and Western Islands belong to one of the following three island groups: theShetland, Orkney and the Hebrides. The Hebrides can be divided into the inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. The Shetland and Orkney Islands, together with Fair Isle theNorthern Isles. Sometimes Stroma is also included in this group. With an area of 2225 km² the largest Scottish island is Lewis and Harris.
 * 1.1 largest cities
 * 1.2 other cities
 * 1.3 see also
 * coastline 2
 * 3 Islands
 * 4 Rivers
 * 5 Lakes
 * 6 Mountains and mountain ranges
 * Glasgow (the largest city)
 * Edinburgh (the capital)
 * Aberdeen
 * Dundee
 * Inverness
 * Stirling
 * Dunfermline
 * Greenock
 * Kirkwall
 * Lockerbie
 * Oban (Scotland)
 * Peebles
 * Perth (Scotland)
 * Stornoway
 * Tomintoul
 * Wick
 * List of cities in Scotland

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Many of the Scottish islands at high tide flooded, and in the Gulf of Corryvreckan between Scarba and Jura is always a spectacular transition between ebb and flow. There are also Islands in the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde and in freshwater lakes like Loch Lomond and Loch Maree. The furthest from the coast of the Scottish mainland located Islands are Saint Kilda and Rockall, that also by Denmark and Ireland, Iceland is claimed.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Scotland's Islands have a varied topography. Mull, Skye and Arran are mountainous, while Tiree, Coll and most Shetland Islands are flat or low lying. Of the Orkney Islands is Hillier and more rugged than the other HoyOrkney Islands, while more mountainous than the Outer Hebrides LewisHarris, North Uist, South Uist and Barra. ==Rivers<span class="mw-editsection" len="338" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Scotland France hundreds of rivers and streams. The largest are:

==Lakes<span class="mw-editsection" len="335" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Fresh water lakes in Scotland are known as lochs, with the exception of the Lake of Menteith and some artificial lakes. The biggest lakes are:
 * 1) Tay, 193 km;
 * 2) Spey, 172 km;
 * 3) Clyde, 171 km;
 * 4) Tweed, 156 km;
 * 5) Dee, 137 km;
 * Don, 132 km;
 * 1) Forth, 105 km;
 * 2) Findhorn, 101 km;
 * 3) Deveron, 98 km;
 * 4) Annan, 79 km.

==Mountains and mountain ranges<span class="mw-editsection" len="349" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Large parts of Scotland are mountainous, particularly the Scottish Highlands. The highest point of Scotland and Great Britain is Ben Nevis (1344 m). There are 284 Munros.
 * 1) Loch Lomond, with 71.1 km ² the largest fresh water lake of Great Britain;
 * 2) Loch Ness, 56.4 km²;
 * 3) Loch Awe, 38.5 km²;
 * 4) Loch Maree, 28.6 km²;
 * 5) Loch Morar, 26.7 km²;
 * 6) Loch Tay, 26.4 km²;
 * 7) Loch Shin, 22.5 km²;
 * 8) Loch Shiel, 19.6 km²;
 * 9) Loch Rannoch, 19.1 km²;
 * 10) Loch Ericht, 18.7 km².