Scotland (Шотландия)
|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. |
|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 surface of |
|Scotland is 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 Spey. |
|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 3.9њ C (39њ |
|F), and the average January temperature of the western coastal region is 3.1њ |
|C (37.5њ F); corresponding July averages are 13.8њ C (56.8њ F) and 15њ C (59њ |
|F). The average January and July temperatures for the city of Edinburgh are |
|3.5њ C (38њ F) and 14.5њ C (58њ 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. |
|Beginning in the late 1970s, offshore oil deposits in the North Sea became an |
|important part of the Scottish economy. |
|Population |
|The people of Scotland, like those of Great Britain in general, are |
|descendants of various racial stocks, including the Picts, Celts, |
|Scandinavians, and Romans. Scotland is a mixed rural-industrial society. Scots|
|divide themselves into Highlanders, who consider themselves of purer Celtic |
|blood and retain a stronger feeling of the clan, and Lowlanders, who are |
|largely of Teutonic blood. |
|Population Characteristics |
|The population of Scotland was (1991 preliminary) 4,957,289. The population |
|density was about 64 persons per sq km (167 per sq mi). The highest density is|
|in the Central Lowlands, where nearly three-quarters of the Scots live, and |
|the lowest is in the Highlands. About two-thirds of the population are urban |
|dwellers. |
|Principal Cities |
|The most populous city in Scotland (654,542) is Glasgow. The conurbation of |
|Clydeside, which includes the cities of Glasgow and Clydebank, is the largest |
|shipbuilding and marine engineering center in Great Britain. Other important |
|industrial cities are Dundee (165,548) and Aberdeen (201,099). |
|Religion and Language |
|The Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian denomination, is the official state |
|church. The Roman Catholic church is second in importance. Other leading |
|denominations are the Episcopal Church in Scotland, Congregationalist, |
|Baptist, Methodist, and Unitarian. Jews are a small minority. |
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