Scotland (Шотландия)

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. |

Страницы: 1, 2



Реклама
В соцсетях
рефераты скачать рефераты скачать рефераты скачать рефераты скачать рефераты скачать рефераты скачать рефераты скачать