SCOTLAND
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By: Alexey Kapitskiy
School № 1264
GRADE 10 “C”
Moscow
2003, May
Table of Contents:
1. Geographical Situation
2. The Land And Resources
3. Physiographic Regions
4. Rivers and Lakes
5. Climate
6. Plant and Animal Life
7. Natural Resources
8. Population
9. Population Characteristics
10. Principal Cities
11. Religion and Language
12. Education
13. Elementary and Secondary Schools
14. Universities and Collages
15. Government
16. Central Government
17. Legislature
18. Judiciary
19. Local Government and Political Parties
20. Economy
21. Agriculture
22. Forestry and Fishing
23. Mining and Manufacturing
24. Transportation and Communications
|Scotland, administrative division of the kingdom of Great Britain, |
|occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scotland is |
|bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean; on the east by the North Sea; |
|on the southeast by England; on the south by Solway Firth, which partly |
|separates it from England, and by the Irish Sea; and on the west by North |
|Channel, which separates it from Ireland, and by the Atlantic Ocean. As a |
|geopolitical entity Scotland includes 186 nearby islands, a majority of |
|which are contained in three groups—namely, the Hebrides, also known as the|
|Western Islands, situated off the western coast; the Orkney Islands, |
|situated off the northeastern coast; and the Shetland Islands, situated |
|northeast of the Orkney Islands. The largest of the other islands is the |
|Island of Arran. The area, including the islands, is 78,772 sq km (30,414 |
|sq mi). Edinburgh (population, 1991, 421,213) is the capital of Scotland as|
|well as a major industrial area and seaport. |
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|The Land and Resources |
| |
|Scotland has a very irregular coastline. The western coast in particular is|
|deeply penetrated by numerous arms of the sea, most of which are narrow |
|submerged valleys, known locally as sea lochs, and by a number of broad |
|indentations, generally called firths. The principal firths are the Firth |
|of Lorne, the Firth of Clyde, and Solway Firth. The major indentations on |
|the eastern coast are Dornoch Firth, Moray Firth, the Firth of Tay, and the|
|Firth of Forth. Measured around the various firths and lochs, the coastline|
|of Scotland is about 3700 km (about 2300 mi) long. |
| |
|Physiographic Regions |
| |
|The terrain of Scotland is predominantly mountainous but may be divided |
|into three distinct regions, from north to south: the Highlands, the |
|Central Lowlands, and the Southern Uplands. More than one-half of the |
|surfaces of Scotland are occupied by the Highlands, the most rugged region |
|on the island of Great Britain. Consisting of parallel mountain chains with|
|a general northeastern-southwestern trend and broken by deep ravines and |
|valleys, the Highlands are noted for their scenic grandeur. Precipitous |
|cliffs, moorland plateaus, mountain lakes, sea lochs, swift-flowing |
|streams, and dense thickets are common to the Highlands, the most sparsely |
|inhabited section of Scotland. The region is divided in two by a |
|depression, known as the Glen More, or Great Glen, which extends from Moray|
|Firth to Loch Linnhe. To the northwest of this lie heavily eroded peaks |
|with fairly uniform elevations ranging from 610 to 915 m (about 2000 to |
|3000 ft). In the Highlands southeast of the Great Glen the topography is |
|highly diversified. This region is traversed by the Grampian Mountains, the|
|principal mountain system of Scotland. The highest peak of the Grampians is|
|Ben Nevis (1343 m/4406 ft), the highest summit in Great Britain. To the |
|south of the Highlands lies the Central Lowlands, a narrow belt comprising |
|only about one-tenth of the area of Scotland, but containing the majority |
|of the country's population. The Central Lowlands are traversed by several |
|chains of hills, including the Ochil and Sidlaw hills, and by several |
|important rivers, notably the Clyde, Forth, and Tay. The terrain of the |
|Southern Uplands, a region much less elevated and rugged than the |
|Highlands, consists largely of a moorland plateau traversed by rolling |
|valleys and broken by mountainous outcroppings. Only a few summits in the |
|Southern Uplands exceed 762 m (2500 ft) in elevation, the highest being |
|Merrick (843 m/2765 ft) in the southwest. Adjoining the Southern Uplands |
|region along the boundary with England are the Cheviot Hills. |
| |
|Rivers and Lakes |
| |
|Scotland is characterized by an abundance of streams and lakes (lochs). |
|Notable among the lakes, which are especially numerous in the central and |
|northern regions, are Loch Lomond (the largest), Loch Ness, Loch Tay, and |
|Loch Katrine. Many of the rivers of Scotland, in particular the rivers in |
|the west, are short, torrential streams, generally of little commercial |
|importance. The longest river of Scotland is the Tay; the Clyde, however, |
|is the principal navigational stream, site of the port of Glasgow. Other |
|chief rivers include the Forth, Tweed, Dee, and Spay. |
| |
|Climate |
| |
|Like the climate of the rest of Great Britain, that of Scotland is subject |
|to the moderating influences of the surrounding seas. As a result of these |
|influences, extreme seasonal variations are rare, and temperate winters and|
|cool summers are the outstanding climatic features. Low temperatures, |
|however, are common during the winter season in the mountainous districts |
|of the interior. In the western coastal region, which is subject to the |
|moderating effects of the Gulf Stream, conditions are somewhat milder than |
|in the east. The average January temperature of the eastern coastal region |
|is 3.9 C (39 F), and the average January temperature of the western coastal|
|region is 3.њ C (37.5 F); corresponding July averages are 13.8 C (56.8 F) |
|and 15 C (59 F). The average January and July temperatures for the city of |
|Edinburgh are 3.5 C (38 F) and 14.5 C (58 F), respectively. Precipitation, |
|which is marked by regional variations, ranges from about 3810 mm (about |
|150 in) annually in the western Highlands to about 635 mm (about 25 in) |
|annually in certain eastern areas. |
| |
|Plant and Animal Life |
| |
|The most common species of trees indigenous to Scotland are oak and |
|conifers—chiefly fir, pine, and larch. Large forested areas, however, are |
|rare, and the only important woodlands are in the southern and eastern |
|Highlands. Except in these wooded areas, vegetation in the elevated regions|
|consists largely of heather, ferns, mosses, and grasses. Saxifrage, |
|mountain willow, and other types of alpine and arctic flora occur at |
|elevations above 610 m (2000 ft). Practically all of the cultivated plants |
|of Scotland were imported from America and the European continent. The only|
|large indigenous mammal in Scotland is the deer. Both the red deer and the |
|roe deer are found, but the red deer, whose habitat is the Highlands, is by|
|far the more abundant of the two species. Other indigenous mammals are the |
|hare, rabbit, otter, ermine, pine marten, and wildcat. Game birds include |
|grouse, blackcock, ptarmigan, and waterfowl. The few predatory birds |
|include the kite, osprey, and golden eagle. Scotland is famous for the |
|salmon and trout that abound in its streams and lakes. Many species of |
|fish, including cod, haddock, herring, and various types of shellfish, are |
|found in the coastal waters. |
| |
|Natural Resources |
| |
|Scotland, like the rest of the island of Great Britain, has significant |
|reserves of coal. It also possesses large deposits of zinc, chiefly in the |
|south. The soil is generally rocky and infertile, except for that of the |
|Central Lowlands. Northern Scotland has great hydroelectric power potential|
|and contains Great Britain's largest hydroelectric generating stations. |
