Scottish Highlands - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands

Scottish Lowlands

The Scottish Lowlands is a name given to the Southern half of Scotland.The area is called a' Ghalldachd in Scottish Gaelic, and the Lawlands ....

from the later Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

into the modern period, when Lowland Scots

Scots language

Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...

replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault

Highland Boundary Fault

The Highland Boundary Fault is a geological fault that traverses Scotland from Arran and Helensburgh on the west coast to Stonehaven in the east...

, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen

Great Glen

The Great Glen , also known as Glen Albyn or Glen More is a series of glens in Scotland running 100 kilometres from Inverness on the Moray Firth, to Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe.The Great Glen follows a large geological fault known as the Great Glen Fault...

divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands

Northwest Highlands

The Northwest Highlands are the northern third of Scotland that is separated from the Grampian Mountains by the Great Glen . The region comprises , Assynt, Caithness and Sutherland. The Caledonian Canal, which extends from Loch Linnhe in the west, via Loch Ness to the Moray Firth in the north...

. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means 'the place of the Gaels' and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.

The area is very sparsely populated, with many mountain range

Mountain range

A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...

s dominating the region, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles

British Isles

The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...

, Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William....

. Before the 19th century the Highlands was home to a much larger population, but due to a combination of factors including the outlawing of the traditional Highland way of life following the Jacobite Rising of 1745

Jacobite Rising of 1745

The Jacobite rising of 1745, often referred to as "The 'Forty-Five," was the attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. The rising occurred during the War of the Austrian Succession when most of the British Army was on the European continent...

, the infamous Highland Clearances

Highland Clearances

The Highland Clearances were forced displacements of the population of the Scottish Highlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. They led to mass emigration to the sea coast, the Scottish Lowlands, and the North American colonies...

, and mass migration to urban areas during the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

, the area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. The average population density in the Highlands and Islands is lower than that of Sweden, Norway, Papua New Guinea and Argentina.

The Highland Council is the administrative body for much of the Highlands, with its administrative centre at Inverness

Inverness

Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...

. However the Highlands also includes parts of the council areas

Subdivisions of Scotland

For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as "councils"...

of Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...

, Angus

Angus

Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...

, Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...

, Moray

Moray

Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...

, Perth and Kinross

Perth and Kinross

Perth and Kinross is one of 32 council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Argyll and Bute and Highland council areas. Perth is the administrative centre...

, and Stirling. Although the Isle of Arran

Isle of Arran

Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...

administratively belongs to North Ayrshire

North Ayrshire

North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...

, its northern part is generally regarded as part of the Highlands.

Culture

Between the 15th century and the 20th century, the area was different from the most of the Lowlands

Lowlands

- Geographic regions :* Scottish Lowlands, all of mainland Scotland that isn't the Highlands** see also Central Lowlands* Northern European Lowlands, a region of Europe between the Central Highlands and the North Sea...

in term of language. Most of the Highlands fell into the region known as the Gàidhealtachd

Gàidhealtachd

The Gàidhealtachd , sometimes known as A' Ghàidhealtachd , usually refers to the Scottish highlands and islands, and especially the Scottish Gaelic culture of the area. The corresponding Irish word Gaeltacht however refers strictly to an Irish speaking area...

, which was the Gaelic

Scottish Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....

-speaking area of Scotland (now largely confined to the Outer Hebrides). The terms are sometimes used interchangeably but have different meanings in their respective languages. Scottish English

Scottish English

Scottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not be considered distinct from the Scots language. It is always considered distinct from Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language....

(in its Highland form

Highland English

Highland English is the variety of Scottish English spoken by many in the Scottish Highlands. It is more strongly influenced by Gaelic than other forms of Scottish English. Island English is the variety spoken as a second language by native Gaelic speakers in the Outer Hebrides...

) is the predominant language of the area today. Historically, the Highland line distinguished the two Scottish cultures. While the Highland line broadly followed the geography of the Grampians in the south, it continued in the north by cutting off the northeastern part of Caithness

Caithness

Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...

, Orkney and Shetland from the more Gaelic Highlands and Hebrides.

History

The Highlands before 1800 were very poor and traditional, with few connections to the uplift of the Scottish Enlightenment

Scottish Enlightenment

The Scottish Enlightenment was the period in 18th century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By 1750, Scots were among the most literate citizens of Europe, with an estimated 75% level of literacy...

and little role in the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

that was sweeping the Lowlands of Scotland.

Religion was a central fact of life. Long after the triumph of the Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

in the Lowlands, Highlanders clung to an old-fashioned Christianity infused with animistic folk beliefs and practices. The remoteness of the region and the lack of a Gaelic-speaking clergy undermined the missionary efforts of the established church. The later 18th century saw somewhat greater success, owing to the efforts of the SSPCK missionaries and to the disruption of traditional society after the Battle of Culloden

Battle of Culloden

The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...

in 1746. Nevertheless, in the 19th century, the evangelical Free Churches, which were more accepting of Gaelic language and culture, grew rapidly, appealing much more strongly than did the established church.

The era of the Napoleonic wars, 1790–1815, brought prosperity, optimism, and economic growth to the Highlands. The economy grew thanks to wages paid by kelping industry (where men burned kelp for the useful chemicals obtained from the ashes), fisheries, and weaving, as well as large scale infrastructure spending such as the Caledonian Canal project. On the East Coast, farmlands were improved, and high prices for cattle brought money to the community. Service in the Army was also attractive to young men from Highlands, who sent pay home and retired there with their army pensions. The prosperity ended after 1815, and long-run negative factors began to undermine the economic position of the poor tenant farmers or "crofters," as they were called. The adoption by the landowners of a market orientation in the century after 1750 dissolved the traditional social and economic structure of the northwest Highlands and Hebrides Islands, causing great disruption for the crofters. The Highland Clearances and the end of the township system followed changes in land ownership and tenancy and the replacement of cattle by sheep. The Great Irish Famine of the 1840s was caused by a plant disease that reached the Highlands in 1846, causing great distress. Using a complex form of chain migration

Chain migration

Chain migration has multiple meanings. It refers to the social process by which immigrants from a particular town follow others from that town to a particular city or neighborhood, whether in an immigrant receiving country or in a new, usually urban, location in the home country...

, many Highlanders migrated out. Clan leaders would designate which young people should emigrate, where to, and in which order. The first arrivals would prepare the way for their kinsmen who continued to arrive in the chain migration.

The unequal concentration of land ownership remained an emotional subject, of enormous importance to the vexed question of the Highland economy, and eventually became a cornerstone of liberal radicalism. The poor crofters (tenant farmers who rented a few acres) were politically powerless, and in the first half of the century they turned to religion. They embraced the popularly oriented, fervently evangelical Presbyterian revival after 1800. Most joined the breakaway "Free Church" after 1843. This evangelical movement was led by lay preachers who themselves came from the lower strata, and whose preaching was implicitly critical of the established order. The religious change energised the crofters and separated them from the landlords; it helped prepare them for their successful and violent challenge to the landlords in in the 1880s through the Highland Land League

Highland Land League

The first Highland Land League emerged as a distinct political force in Scotland during the 1880s, with its power base in the country's Highlands and Islands. It was known also as the Highland Land Law Reform Association and the Crofters' Party...

. Violence erupted starting on the Isle of Skye when Highland landlords cleared their lands for sheep and deer parks. It was quieted when the government stepped in passing the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886 to reduce rents, guarantee fixity of tenure, and break up large estates to provide crofts for the homeless. In contrast to the Irish Land War underway at the same time, the Irish were intensely politicised through roots in Irish nationalism, while political dimensions were limited. In 1885 three Independent Crofter candidates were elected to Parliament, which listened to their pleas. The results included explicit security for the Scottish smallholders; the legal right to bequeath tenancies to descendants; and creating a Crofting Commission. The Crofters as a political movement faded away by 1892, and the Liberal Party

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

gained their votes.

Religion

Religion continues to play an important role in Highland culture, with Sabbath observance still widely practised, particularly in the Hebrides.

The Scottish Reformation

Scottish Reformation

The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...

achieved partial success in the Highlands. Roman Catholicism remained strong in some areas, owing to remote locations and the efforts of Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

missionaries from Ireland, who regularly came to celebrate Mass

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

. Although the presence of Roman Catholicism has faded, there remain significant Catholic strongholds within the Highlands and Islands such as Moidart

Moidart

Moidart is a district in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland.Moidart lies to the west of Fort William and is very remote. Loch Shiel cuts off the south-east boundary of the district. Moidart includes the townships of Dorlin, Mingarry, Kinlochmoidart and Glenuig. At Dorlin is located the ancient fortress...

, Morar

Morar

Morar is a small village on the west coast of Scotland, south of Mallaig. The name Morar is also applied to the wider district around the village....

, South Uist

South Uist

South Uist is an island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. In the 2001 census it had a usually resident population of 1,818. There is a nature reserve and a number of sites of archaeological interest, including the only location in Great Britain where prehistoric mummies have been found. The...

and Barra

Barra

The island of Barra is a predominantly Gaelic-speaking island, and apart from the adjacent island of Vatersay, to which it is connected by a causeway, is the southernmost inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.-Geography:The 2001 census showed that the resident population was 1,078...

in the southern Outer Hebrides.

For the most part, however, the Highlands are considered predominantly Protestant, loyal to the Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

. In contrast to the Catholic southern islands, the northern Outer Hebrides

Outer Hebrides

The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...

islands (Lewis, Harris and North Uist) have exceptionally large populations belonging to the Protestant Free Church of Scotland

Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)

Free Church of Scotland is that part of the original Free Church of Scotland that remained outside of the union with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1900...

or the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland

Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland

The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland was formed in 1893 and claims to be the spiritual descendant of the Scottish Reformation...

. Lewis

Lewis

Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....

and Harris have been described as the last bastion of Calvinism

Calvinism

Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...

in Britain and the Sabbath remains widely observed. Inverness and the surrounding area has a majority Protestant population, with most locals belonging to either The Kirk or the Free Church of Scotland

Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)

Free Church of Scotland is that part of the original Free Church of Scotland that remained outside of the union with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1900...

. The church maintains a noticeable presence within the area, with church attendance notably higher than in other Scottish cities.

Historical geography

In traditional Scottish geography

Geography

Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

, the Highlands refers to that part of Scotland north-west of the Highland Boundary Fault

Highland Boundary Fault

The Highland Boundary Fault is a geological fault that traverses Scotland from Arran and Helensburgh on the west coast to Stonehaven in the east...

, which crosses mainland Scotland in a near-straight line from Helensburgh

Helensburgh

Helensburgh is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde and the eastern shore of the entrance to the Gareloch....

to Stonehaven

Stonehaven

Stonehaven is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 9,577 in 2001 census.Stonehaven, county town of Kincardineshire, grew around an Iron Age fishing village, now the "Auld Toon" , and expanded inland from the seaside...

. However the flat coastal lands that occupy parts of the counties of Nairnshire, Morayshire, Banffshire

Banffshire

The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own county council between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff although the largest...

and Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire (historic)

Aberdeenshire or the County of Aberdeen is a registration county of Scotland. This area is also a lieutenancy area.Until 1975 Aberdeenshire was one of the counties of Scotland, governed by a county council from 1890...

are often excluded as they do not share the distinctive geographical and cultural features of the rest of the Highlands. The north-east of Caithness

Caithness

, as well as Orkney and Shetland, are also often excluded from the Highlands, although the Hebrides

Hebrides

The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...

are usually included. This definition of the Highland area differed from the Lowlands

Scottish Lowlands

The Scottish Lowlands is a name given to the Southern half of Scotland.The area is called a' Ghalldachd in Scottish Gaelic, and the Lawlands ....

by language and tradition, having preserved Gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

speech and customs centuries after the anglicisation

Anglicisation

Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...

of the latter; this led to a growing perception of a divide, with the cultural distinction between Highlander and Lowlander first noted towards the end of the 14th century. In Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

, the boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands is not well defined. There is a stone beside the A93 road

A93 road

The A93 is a major road in Scotland and the highest public road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from Perth through Blairgowrie and Rattray, then through the Grampian Mountains by way of Glenshee, the Cairnwell Pass and Glen Clunie to Braemar in Aberdeenshire...

near the village of Dinnet

Dinnet

Dinnet is a village in the Marr area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Approximately equidistant from Deeside towns Aboyne and Ballater and situated on the main A93 road in the valley of the River Dee, it is said to be the gateway to both the Highlands and the Cairngorms...

on Royal Deeside

River Dee, Aberdeenshire

The River Dee is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through Strathdee to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen...

which states 'You are now in the Highlands', although there are areas of Highland character to the east of this point.

A much wider definition of the Highlands is that used by the Scotch Whisky

Scotch whisky

Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...

industry. Highland Single Malts

Highland Single Malts

Highland Single Malts are single malt Scotch whiskies produced in the Highland region of Scotland. This categorization includes the whiskies produced on the islands around the perimeter of Scotland , except for Islay...

are produced at distilleries north of an imaginary line between Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

and Greenock

Greenock

Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...

, thus including all of Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

and Angus

Angus

Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...

.

Inverness

Inverness

Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...

is traditionally regarded as the capital of the Highlands, although less so in the Highland parts of Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

, Angus

Angus

Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...

, Perthshire

Perthshire

Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

and Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...

which look more to cities such as Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, Perth

Perth, Scotland

Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...

, Dundee

Dundee

and Stirling

Stirling

Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...

as their commercial centres. Under some of the wider definitions in use, Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

could be considered the largest city in the Highlands, although it does not share the recent Gaelic cultural history typical of the Highlands proper.

Highland Council area

The Highland Council area,
created as one of the local government regions of Scotland

Subdivisions of Scotland

For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as "councils"...

, has been a unitary council

Unitary authority

A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...

area since 1996. The council area excludes a large area of the southern and eastern Highlands, and the Western Isles, but includes Caithness

Caithness

. Highlands is sometimes used, however, as a name for the council area, as in Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service
Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service
The Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service for northern Scotland, covering the council areas of Highland, Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles, and so covering a major part of the Highlands and Islands area...

. Northern
Northern Scotland
Northern Scotland is an administrative division of Scotland used for police and fire services. It consists of Highland, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands and the Western Isles. The police service uses Northern in its name, but the fire service uses the name Highlands and Islands Fire and...

, as in Northern Constabulary
Northern Constabulary
The Northern Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for Northern Scotland, covering the Highland council area along with the Western Isles, the Orkney Isles and the Shetland Isles, which comprise most of the Highlands and Islands area...

, is also used to refer to the area covered by the fire and rescue service. This area consists of the Highland council area and the island council areas of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

Highland Council signs in the Pass of Drumochter

Pass of Drumochter

The Pass of Drumochter is the main mountain pass between the northern and southern central Scottish Highlands. The A9 road passes through here, as does the Highland Main Line, the railway between Inverness and the south of Scotland...

, between Glen Garry and Dalwhinnie

Dalwhinnie

Dalwhinnie "Meeting Place" is a small village in the Scottish Highlands.-Location:Dalwhinnie sits at an altitude of 351 m. It is one of the coldest villages in the UK, having an average annual temperature of 6.5oC, making it suitable for winter walking and mountaineering.It is north of Drumochter,...

, saying "Welcome to the Highlands", are still regarded as controversial.

Highlands and Islands

Much of the Highlands area overlaps the Highlands and Islands

Highlands and Islands

The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are broadly the Scottish Highlands plus Orkney, Shetland and the Hebrides.The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 applied...

area. An electoral region

Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions

Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions were first used in 1999, in the first general election of the Scottish Parliament , created by the Scotland Act 1998....

called Highlands and Islands
Highlands and Islands (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
The Highlands and Islands is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Eight of the parliament's first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament .The...

is used in elections to the Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

: this area includes Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Highland Council local government area, the Western Isles and most of the Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute

and Moray

Moray

local government areas. Highlands and Islands has, however, different meanings in different contexts. It means Highland (the local government area), Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles in Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service
Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service
The Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service for northern Scotland, covering the council areas of Highland, Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles, and so covering a major part of the Highlands and Islands area...

. Northern
Northern Scotland
Northern Scotland is an administrative division of Scotland used for police and fire services. It consists of Highland, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands and the Western Isles. The police service uses Northern in its name, but the fire service uses the name Highlands and Islands Fire and...

, as in Northern Constabulary
Northern Constabulary
The Northern Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for Northern Scotland, covering the Highland council area along with the Western Isles, the Orkney Isles and the Shetland Isles, which comprise most of the Highlands and Islands area...

, refers to the same area as that covered by the fire and rescue service.

Historical crossings

There have been trackway

Trackway

A trackway is an ancient route of travel for people or animals. In biology, a trackway can be a set of impressions in the soft earth, usually a set of footprints, left by an animal. A fossil trackway is the fossilized imprint of a trackway. Trackways have been found all over the world...

s from the Lowlands to the Highlands since prehistoric times. Many traverse the Mounth

Mounth

The Mounth is the range of hills on the southern edge of Strathdee in northeast Scotland. It was usually referred to with the article, i.e. "the Mounth". The name is a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic monadh which in turn is akin to the Welsh mynydd, and may be of Pictish origin...

, a spur of mountainous land that extends from the higher inland range to the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

slightly north of Stonehaven

Stonehaven

. The most well known and historically important trackways are the Causey Mounth

Causey Mounth

The Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continued to function as the principal route connecting these...

, Elsick Mounth

Elsick Mounth

The Elsick Mounth is an ancient trackway crossing the Grampian Mountains in the vicinity of Netherley, Scotland. This trackway was one of the few means of traversing the Grampian Mounth area in prehistoric and medieval times. The highest pass of the route is attained within the Durris Forest...

, Cryne Corse Mounth and Cairnamounth

Cairnamounth

Cairnamounth is a crossing route of the Mounth in the Grampian Mountains of Scotland. It has served as an ancient military route at least from Roman times through the 13th century AD...

Geology

The Highlands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault

Highland Boundary Fault

The Highland Boundary Fault is a geological fault that traverses Scotland from Arran and Helensburgh on the west coast to Stonehaven in the east...

, which runs from Arran

Isle of Arran

to Stonehaven

Stonehaven

. This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient rocks from the Cambrian

Cambrian

The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...

and Precambrian

Precambrian

The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...

periods which were uplifted

Tectonic uplift

Tectonic uplift is a geological process most often caused by plate tectonics which increases elevation. The opposite of uplift is subsidence, which results in a decrease in elevation. Uplift may be orogenic or isostatic.-Orogenic uplift:...

during the later Caledonian Orogeny

Caledonian orogeny

The Caledonian orogeny is a mountain building era recorded in the northern parts of the British Isles, the Scandinavian Mountains, Svalbard, eastern Greenland and parts of north-central Europe. The Caledonian orogeny encompasses events that occurred from the Ordovician to Early Devonian, roughly...

. Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss

Lewisian complex

The Lewisian complex or Lewisian Gneiss is a suite of Precambrian metamorphic rocks that outcrop in the northwestern part of Scotland, forming part of the Hebridean Terrane. These rocks are of Archaean and Paleoproterozoic age, ranging from 3.0–1.7 Ga. They form the basement on which the...

in the northwest are up to 3,000 million years old. The overlying rocks of the Torridonian sandstone form mountains in the Torridon Hills

Torridon Hills

The Torridon Hills surround Torridon village in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The name is usually applied to the mountains to the north of Glen Torridon...

such as Liathach

Liathach

Liathach is one of the most famous of the Torridon Hills. It lies to the north of the A896 road, in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, and has two peaks of Munro status: Spidean a' Choire Leith at the east of the main ridge, and Mullach an Rathain at the western end of the mountain...

and Beinn Eighe

Beinn Eighe

Beinn Eighe is a complex mountain massif in the Torridon area of the Highlands of Scotland. It forms a long ridge with many spurs and summits, two of which are classified as Munros. The name Beinn Eighe comes from the Scottish Gaelic meaning File Mountain...

in Wester Ross

Wester Ross

is a western area of Ross and Cromarty in Scotland, notably containing the villages on the west coast such as:* Lochcarron* Applecross* Shieldaig* Torridon* Kinlochewe * * * Aultbea* Laide* Ullapool* Achiltibuie...

.

These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms

Cairngorms

The Cairngorms are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain of the same name - Cairn Gorm.-Name:...

and the Cuillin

Cuillin

This article is about the Cuillin of Skye. See Rùm for the Cuillin of Rùm.The Cuillin are a range of rocky mountains located on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The true Cuillin are also known as the Black Cuillin to distinguish them from the Red Hills across Glen Sligachan...

of Skye

Skye

Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills...

. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone

Old Red Sandstone

The Old Red Sandstone is a British rock formation of considerable importance to early paleontology. For convenience the short version of the term, 'ORS' is often used in literature on the subject.-Sedimentology:...

s found principally along the Moray Firth

Moray Firth

The Moray Firth is a roughly triangular inlet of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotland...

coast and partially down the Highland Boundary Fault

Highland Boundary Fault

The Highland Boundary Fault is a geological fault that traverses Scotland from Arran and Helensburgh on the west coast to Stonehaven in the east...

. The Jurassic

Jurassic

The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...

beds found in isolated locations on Skye

Skye

Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills...

and Applecross

Applecross

The Applecross peninsula is a peninsula in Wester Ross, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. The name Applecross is at least 1300 years old and is not used locally to refer to the 19th century village with the pub and post office, lying on the small Applecross Bay, facing the Inner Sound, on...

reflect the complex underlying geology. They are the original source of much North Sea oil

North Sea oil

North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid oil and natural gas, produced from oil reservoirs beneath the North Sea.In the oil industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea and the area known as "West of Shetland", "the Atlantic Frontier" or "the...

. The Great Glen

Great Glen

is a transform fault

Transform fault

A transform fault or transform boundary, also known as conservative plate boundary since these faults neither create nor destroy lithosphere, is a type of fault whose relative motion is predominantly horizontal in either sinistral or dextral direction. Furthermore, transform faults end abruptly...

which divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands

Northwest Highlands

.

The entire region was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene

Pleistocene

The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....

ice ages, save perhaps for a few nunataks. The complex geomorphology

Geomorphology

Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them...

includes incised valleys and loch

Loch

Loch is the Irish and Scottish Gaelic word for a lake or a sea inlet. It has been anglicised as lough, although this is pronounced the same way as loch. Some lochs could also be called a firth, fjord, estuary, strait or bay...

s carved by the action of mountain streams and ice, and a topography

Topography

Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...

of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have similar heights above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon the amount of denudation

Denudation

In geology, denudation is the long-term sum of processes that cause the wearing away of the earth’s surface leading to a reduction in elevation and relief of landforms and landscapes...

to which the plateau has been subjected in various places.

Places of interest

A83 road
A83 road
The A83 is a major road in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, running from Tarbet, on the western shore of Loch Lomond, where it splits from the A82, to Campbeltown at the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula.-Route:...

, Rest & Be Thankful stretch
An Teallach
An Teallach
An Teallach is a mountain in Scotland. It lies to the southwest of Dundonnell and overlooks Little Loch Broom, in an area often nicknamed the "great wilderness"...
Aonach Mòr
Aonach Mòr
Aonach Mòr is a mountain in the Highlands of Scotland. It is located about 2 miles/ 3 km north east of Ben Nevis on the south side of Glen Spean, near the town of Fort William...

(Nevis Range ski centre)
Arrochar Alps
Arrochar Alps
The Arrochar Alps are a group of mountains located around the head of Loch Long, Loch Fyne,and Loch Goil, near the villages of Arrochar and Lochgoilhead in Argyll, Scotland. The mountains are especially popular with hillwalkers, due to their proximity and accessibility from Glasgow...
Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...
Battlefield of Culloden
Beinn Alligin
Beinn Alligin
Beinn Alligin one of the classic mountains of the Torridon region of Scotland, lying to the north of Loch Torridon, in the Highlands. The name Beinn Alligin is from the Scottish Gaelic, meaning Jewelled Hill...
Beinn Eighe
Beinn Eighe
Beinn Eighe is a complex mountain massif in the Torridon area of the Highlands of Scotland. It forms a long ridge with many spurs and summits, two of which are classified as Munros. The name Beinn Eighe comes from the Scottish Gaelic meaning File Mountain...
Ben Cruachan hydro-electric power station
Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond , , is a distinctive mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros...
Ben Macdui (Scotland's second highest mountain)
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William....

(Scotland's (and Great Britain's) highest mountain)
Cairngorm National Park
Cairngorm Ski centre near Aviemore
Aviemore
Aviemore is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is popular for skiing and other winter sports, and for hill-walking in the Cairngorm...
Cairngorm Mountains
Caledonian Canal
Caledonian Canal
The Caledonian Canal is a canal in Scotland that connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William. It was constructed in the early nineteenth century by engineer Thomas Telford, and is a sister canal of the Göta Canal in Sweden, also constructed by...
Cape Wrath
Cape Wrath
Cape Wrath is a cape in Sutherland, Highland, in northern Scotland. It is the most northwesterly point on the island of Great Britain. The land between the Kyle of Durness and the lighthouse that is situated right at the tip, is known as the Parph, two hundred and seven square kilometers of...
Carrick Castle
Carrick Castle
Carrick Castle is a 15th-century tower house on the west shore of Loch Goil, Argyll, Scotland. It is located between Cuilmuich and Carrick, south of Lochgoilhead....
Castle Stalker
Castle Stalker
Castle Stalker is a four-storey tower house or keep picturesquely set on a tidal islet on Loch Laich, an inlet off Loch Linnhe. It is located about north east of Port Appin, Argyll, Scotland, and is visible from the A828 road around mid-way between Oban and Glen Coe. The islet is accessible from...
Castle Tioram
Castle Tioram
Castle Tioram is a ruined castle that sits on the tidal island Eilean Tioram in Loch Moidart, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It is located west of Acharacle, approximately 80 kilometres from Fort William...
Chanonry Point
Chanonry Point
Chanonry Point lies at the end of Chanonry Ness, a spit of land extending into the Moray Firth between Fortrose and Rosemarkie on the Black Isle, Scotland....
Conic Hill
Duart Castle
Duart Castle
Duart Castle or Caisteal Dhubhairt in Scottish Gaelic is a castle on the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute...
Durness
Durness
Durness is a huge but remote parish in the northwestern Highlands of Scotland, encompassing all the land between the Moine to the East and the Gualin to the West...
Eilean Donan
Eilean Donan
Eilean Donan is a small island in Loch Duich in the western Highlands of Scotland. It is connected to the mainland by a footbridge and lies about half a mile from the village of Dornie. Eilean Donan is named after Donnán of Eigg, a Celtic saint martyred in 617...
Fort George
Glen Coe
Glen Coe
Glen Coe is a glen in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the southern part of the Lochaber committee area of Highland Council, and was formerly part of the county of Argyll. It is often considered one of the most spectacular and beautiful places in Scotland, and is a part of the designated...
Glen Etive
Glen Etive
Glen Etive is a glen in the Highlands of Scotland. The River Etive rises on the peaks surrounding Rannoch Moor, with several tributary streams coming together at the Kings House Hotel, at the head of Glen Coe. From the Kings House, the Etive flows for about 18 km, reaching the sea loch, Loch...
Glen Kinglas
Glen Lyon
Glen Lyon, Scotland
Glen Lyon is a glen in the Perth and Kinross region of Scotland. It is the longest enclosed glen in Scotland and runs for 34 miles from Loch Lyon in the west to the village of Fortingall in the east....
Glen Orchy
Glen Orchy
Glen Orchy is a long glen in Argyll and Bute in Scotland. It runs south-westerly from the Bridge of Orchy to Inverlochy following the River Orchy...
Glenshee Ski Centre
Glenshee Ski Centre
Glenshee Ski Centre is the largest ski resort in Scotland and is sometimes referred to as the Scottish three valleys. It is located in Aberdeenshire and to the north of Spittal of Glenshee, on the A93 road between Blairgowrie and Braemar in the southern Highlands of Scotland...
Glen Shiel
Glen Shiel
Glen Shiel is a glen in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland.The glen runs approximately 9 miles from north-west to south-east, from sea level at the village of Shiel Bridge and Loch Duich to the Cluanie Inn at the western end of Loch Cluanie and the start of Glenmoriston.W. H...
Glen Spean
Glenfinnan
Glenfinnan
Glenfinnan is a village in Lochaber area of the Highlands of Scotland. It is located at the northern end of Loch Shiel, at the foot of Glenfinnan.- Glenfinnan Monument :...

(and its railway station
Glenfinnan railway station
Glenfinnan railway station is a railway station serving the village of Glenfinnan in the Highland Council Area of Scotland. It is on the West Highland Line. Glenfinnan Viaduct is about one kilometre to the east of the station.- History :...

and viaduct
Glenfinnan Viaduct
Glenfinnan Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It was built between 1897 and 1901...

)
Grampian Mountains
Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
Highland Wildlife Park
Highland Wildlife Park
The Highland Wildlife Park is a safari park and zoo near Kingussie, Highland, Scotland. The park is located within the Cairngorms National Park...
Inveraray Castle
Inveraray Castle
Inveraray Castle is an estate house near Inveraray in Argyll in western Scotland.It is the seat of the Duke of Argyll and a Category A listed building.-Ghosts:...
Inveraray Jail
Inveraray Jail
The Inveraray Gaol in Inveraray, Argyll and Bute, Scotland is known as a living 19th-century prison.-History:Designed by James Gillespie Graham in 1813 after original plans by Robert Reid in 1807. The original plans had called for a courthouse and three prisons, one for males, one for females and...
Inverewe Garden
Inverewe Garden
Inverewe Garden is a botanical garden in the Scottish Highlands. It is located just to the north of Poolewe in Wester Ross.The garden was created in 1862 by Osgood Mackenzie on the estate bought for him by his mother. The original Inverewe Lodge was destroyed by fire in 1914 and replaced in 1937...
Iona Abbey
Iona Abbey
Iona Abbey is located on the Isle of Iona, just off the Isle of Mull on the West Coast of Scotland. It is one of the oldest and most important religious centres in Western Europe. The abbey was a focal point for the spread of Christianity throughout Scotland and marks the foundation of a monastic...
Isle of Staffa

Kilchurn Castle
Kilchurn Castle
Kilchurn Castle is a ruined 15th century structure on the northeastern end of Loch Awe, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.It was the ancestral home of the Campbells of Glen Orchy, who later became the Earls of Breadalbane also known as the Breadalbane family branch, of the Clan Campbell. The earliest...
Liathach
Liathach
Liathach is one of the most famous of the Torridon Hills. It lies to the north of the A896 road, in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, and has two peaks of Munro status: Spidean a' Choire Leith at the east of the main ridge, and Mullach an Rathain at the western end of the mountain...
Lecht Ski Centre
Lecht Ski Centre
The Lecht Ski Centre is situated on the A939 road between Cockbridge and Tomintoul, on the eastern side of the Cairngorms in Strathdon.The ski centre has been operating since the mid 1970s...
Loch Alsh
Loch Alsh
Loch Alsh or Lochalsh is a sea inlet between the isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides and the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The name is also used to described the surrounding country and the feudal holdings around the loch...
Loch Ard
Loch Ard
Loch Ard is a body of fresh water in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park of the Stirling District in Scotland. -Overview:...
Loch Earn
Loch Earn
Loch Earn is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the districts of Perth and Kinross and Stirling...
Loch Etive
Loch Etive
Loch Etive is a 30 km sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It reaches the sea at Connel, 5 km north of Oban. It measures 31.6 km in length and from 1.2 km to in width...
Loch Fyne Whisky distillery
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne is a sea loch on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound of Bute, making it the longest of the sea lochs...
Loch Goil
Loch Goil
Loch Goil is a small sea loch in Scotland.It is an arm of Loch Long. The village of Lochgoilhead stands at its head.Located in the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park, Lochgoilhead sits at the head of Loch Goil, a fjord type sea loch. Only an hour from the Erskine Bridge, Glasgow Airport the M8...
Loch Katrine
Loch Katrine
Loch Katrine is a freshwater loch in the district of Stirling, Scotland. It is roughly 8 miles long by 2/3 of a mile wide and runs the length of Strath Gartney...
Loch Leven
Loch Leven
Loch Leven is a fresh water loch in Perth and Kinross council area, central Scotland.Roughly triangular, the loch is about 6 km at its longest. The burgh of Kinross lies at its western end. Loch Leven Castle lies on an island a short way offshore...
Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland....
Loch Lochy
Loch Lochy
Loch Lochy is a large freshwater loch in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. With a mean depth of , it is the third deepest loch of Scotland.-Geography:...
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park is a national park in Scotland centred on Loch Lomond, and includes several ranges of hills, the Trossachs being the most famous...
Loch Lubnaig
Loch Lubnaig
Loch Lubnaig is a small loch near Callander in the Stirling council area, Scotland. It lies in the former county of Perthshire....
Loch Maree
Loch Maree
Loch Maree is a loch in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. At long and with a maximum width of , it is the fourth largest freshwater loch in Scotland; it is the largest north of Loch Ness. Its surface area is ....
Loch Morar
Loch Morar
Loch Morar is a freshwater loch in Morar, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It is the fifth-largest loch in Scotland, with a surface area of and the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles, with a maximum depth of ....
Loch Morlich
Loch Morlich
Loch Morlich is a freshwater loch in the Badenoch and Strathspey area of Highland, Scotland near Aviemore. The loch is home to a watersports center with kayaking, sailing and windsurfing among the activities available. There is also a yacht club and cycling routes around the loch...
Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. Its surface is above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie"...
Loch Nevis
Loch Nevis
Loch Nevis is a sea loch in Lochaber on the west coast of Scotland.It runs inland from the Sound of Sleat, and is bounded by the peninsula of Knoydart to the north and North Morar to the south....
Loch Rannoch
Loch Rannoch
Loch Rannoch is a large body of fresh water in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.The loch is over long in a west-east direction with an average width of about . The River Tummel begins at its eastern end. The Tay Forest Park lies along its southern shore...
Loch Tay
Loch Tay
Loch Tay is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the district of Perthshire.It is a long narrow loch of around 14 miles long, and typically around 1 to 1½ miles wide, following the line of the valley from the south west to north east...
Lochranza
Lochranza
Lochranza is a village located on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The population, somewhat in decline, is around 200 people....
Luss
Luss
Luss is a village in Argyll & Bute, Scotland, on the west bank of Loch Lomond.-History:Historically in the County of Dunbarton, its original name is Clachan dubh, or 'dark village'...
Meall a' Bhuiridh
Meall a' Bhuiridh
Meall a' Bhùiridh is a mountain on the edge of Rannoch Moor in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies near the top of Glen Coe and Glen Etive, overlooking the Kings House Hotel inn and the A82 road...

(Glencoe Ski Centre)
Muchalls Castle
Muchalls Castle
Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well preserved double groined 13th century towerhouse structure, built by the Frasers of Muchalls. Upon this structure, the 17th century castle was begun by...
Oban Sealife centre at Loch Crean
Rannoch Moor
Rannoch Moor
Rannoch Moor is a large expanse of around 50 square miles of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch, in Perth and Kinross and Lochaber, Highland, partly northern Argyll and Bute, Scotland...
Red Cuillin
Carron River
River Carron, Wester Ross
River Carron is a river in Wester Ross, in the Highlands of Scotland. The river rises in Ledgowan Forest. It gathers its head-streams through Carron Bog, then enters Loch Scaven and flows out from there....
River Spey
River Spey
The River Spey is a river in the northeast of Scotland, the second longest and the fastest-flowing river in Scotland...
River Tay
River Tay
The River Tay is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in the United Kingdom. The Tay originates in western Scotland on the slopes of Ben Lui , then flows easterly across the Highlands, through Loch Dochhart, Loch Lubhair and Loch Tay, then continues east through Strathtay , in...
Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use...
Smoo Cave
Smoo Cave
Smoo Cave is a large combined sea cave and freshwater cave in Durness in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland.- Geology :Smoo Cave is formed within Early Ordovician dolostones of the Durness Group...
Stob Coire a' Chàirn
Stob Coire a' Chàirn
Stob Coire a’ Chàirn is a Scottish mountain situated in the Mamores range, 3.5 kilometres north of Kinlochleven. The mountain reaches a height of 981 metres and is regarded as one of the more modest peaks of the ten Munros in the Mamores, indeed for many years it was not named on OS maps...
Stac Polly
Strathspey Railway
Sutherland
Sutherland
Sutherland is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic administrative county of Scotland. It is now within the Highland local government area. In Gaelic the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: Dùthaich 'IcAoidh , Asainte , and Cataibh...
Tor Castle
Torridon Hills
Torridon Hills
The Torridon Hills surround Torridon village in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The name is usually applied to the mountains to the north of Glen Torridon...
West Highland Way
West Highland Way
The West Highland Way is a linear long distance footpath in Scotland, with the official status of Long Distance Route. It is 154.5km long, running from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, with an element of hill walking in the route...
Wester Ross
Wester Ross
is a western area of Ross and Cromarty in Scotland, notably containing the villages on the west coast such as:* Lochcarron* Applecross* Shieldaig* Torridon* Kinlochewe * * * Aultbea* Laide* Ullapool* Achiltibuie...
Western Isles

External links

Am Baile – Highland History & Culture in English and Gaelic
Community portal site – EU and local authority supported
Walking guide
National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE (selection of archive films relating to the Scottish Highlands)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Culture

History

Religion

Historical geography

Highland Council area

Highlands and Islands

Historical crossings

Geology

Places of interest

See also

Further reading

External links