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Scotland is a very small country. It is 274 miles (441 kilometers) long. The coastline is so jagged that it adds up to 2000 miles (3218 kilometers). At its widest point it is 154 miles (248 kilometers). At its narrowest it is only 25 miles (40 kilometers). Because of Scotlands narrowness and its deep inlets, it is never possible to get far away from the sea. Scotland occupies the northern third of the islands of Great Britain. The river Tweed and the Cheviot Hills form Scotland’s southern border with England. The Northwest Channel separates southwestern Scotland from Northern Ireland. The northwest coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. East faces the North Sea. The east coast faces the North Sea, which separates Scotland from the mainland of Europe. Land Regions Scotland has three main land regions. They are, from north to south, the Highlands, the Central Lowlands, and the Southern Uplands. The Highlands Is a rugged, barren region that covers the northern two thirds of Scotland. There are two major mountain ranges, the Northwest Highlands and the Grampian Mountains rise in this region. The ranges have parallel ridges that run through the Highlands from northeast to southwest. A deep valley called Glen Mor or the Great Glen separates the two mountain ranges. The highest peak in the British Isle is 4406 feet (1343 meters). Ben Nevis, rises south of Glen Mor. The Highlands have two kinds of valleys. Steep, narrow glens and broad, rolling straths. Much of the land in the Highlands is a treeless area called a moor or a heath. The most rugged land lies along the west coast. Most Highlanders live on the narrow coastal plains. The Central Lowlands The valleys of the Rivers Clyde, Fourth, and Tay cross the Central Lowlands. This region has Scotland’s best farmland. Wide, fertile fields and low hills with patches of trees cover the entire region. About three-fourths of Scottish people live in the lowlands. The Southern Uplands They consist of rolling moors broken in places by rocky cliffs. The top of the hills are largely barren, but rich pasture land covers most of the lower slopes. Many sheep and cattle are raised in the southern uplands. In the south, the uplands rise to the Cheviot Hills. Rivers and Lakes The river Clyde is Scotland’s most important river. Ships from the Atlantic
Ocean can sail up the Clyde to Glasgow. The Clyde was narrow and shallow until
the 1700’s when engineers widened and deepened the river to make it navigable.
Scotland’s longest rivers flow eastward into the North Sea. The Tay, 120 miles
(193 kilometers) long, is the largest river in Scotland. It carries more water
than any other river in the United Kingdom. Many of Scotland’s rivers flow
into wide bays called firths. The Firths of Forth, Tay, and Moray are on the
east coast. The Firths of Clyde and Lorn lie on the west side. All ships bound
for Glasgow must pass through the Firth of Clyde. A suspension bridge, one of
the longest in the world, spans the Firth of Forth at Queens Ferry. It is 8244
feet (2313 meters) long. Most of Scotland’s lakes (which are called lochs) lie
in deep Islands Scotland has hundreds of islands. A large group of islands called the Hebrides lie off the west coast of Scotland’s mainland. The Orkney and Shetland groups lie north of the mainland and form the boundary between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. |
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Highland valleys. Loch Lomond is Scotland’s largest lake. It is 23
miles (37 kilometers) long and 5 miles (8 kilometers) at its widest point. A
series of lakes extend through Glen Mor. These lakes are connected by canals and
form the Caledonian Canal, which cuts across Scotland from Moray Firth to the
Firth of Lorn. One of the canals lakes is famous for its "monster".
Some people claim to have seen a creature 30 feet (9 meters) long in the lake.
Along the west coast of Scotland, the Atlantic Ocean extends inland in many
narrow bays called sea lochs.