The
west coast of Scotland is buffeted by the Atlantic Ocean whereas
the east coast is lashed by North Sea. The country consists of
approximately 186 islands which can be subdivided into (a) The
Western Isles, (b) The Orkney Islands and (c) The Shetland Islands.
At its narrowest point it is only some 38 miles across with the
result the weather is very susceptible to dramatic changes.
It was sometime in 3,000 B.C. when the first settlers arrived
at Skara Brae in the Orkneys. They constructed an underground
village for themselves out of slabs of stone and covered the structure
with turf. At that time the whole country was carpeted in dense
forest. Copper deposits were to be found around Loch Fyne and
Loch Ness in the North of the country and in the Ochill Hills
in the central belt and further south in the Lead Hills.
The Roman Emperor Antoninus decreed in the year 140 that a wall
should be built from the Firth of Clyde in the west to the Firth
of Forth in the east to keep the Barbarians in check. In 155 the
Romans decided that enough was enough and packed their bags and
left.
The terrain of Scotland is predominantly mountainous, but can
be divided into three distinct regions, from north to south: the
Scottish Highlands, the Central Lowlands, and the Southern Uplands.
More than half of the surface of Scotland is occupied by
the Scottish Highlands, the most rugged region on the island of
Great Britain. Consisting of parallel mountain chains extending
generally from northeast to southwest, and broken by deep ravines
and valleys, the Scottish 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 Scottish Highlands. The region is divided into two by a
depression known as Glen More, or the Great Glen, which extends
from the Firth of Inverness to Loch Linnhe. To the northwest
of this lie heavily eroded peaks with fairly uniform elevations
ranging from 610 to 915 metres (about 2,000 to 3,000 feet).
The Grampian Mountains, the principal mountain system of
Scotland, extend throughout the Highland region. The highest peak
is Ben Nevis (1,343 metres/4,406 feet), which is also the highest
peak in the United Kingdom.
The Central Lowlands, is the home of the Ochil
Hills and the Sidlaw Hills, and the rivers, Clyde, Forth, and
Tay. This area of Scotland is nowhere near as mountainous
as the Highlands consisting mainly of a moorland plateau traversed
by rolling valleys and broken by mountainous outcrops. The
highest peak is 843 metres/2,765 feet ( Merrick). The Cheviot
Hills join the Southern Uplands region at the boundary with England.