Highlands and Islands etc...

Here is another post directed primarily at Americans, just to confirm that Scotland is not simply a part of England!  However, there are some interesting facts here for everyone.

As of 2011, the population of Scotland was 5.295 million.  Covering an area of 30,418 sq mi, this gives a population density of 174 per square mile.

Only four Scottish cities possess a population of over 100,000.  Glasgow (590,507) is the most populous, followed by Edinburgh (459,366), Aberdeen (195,021), and Dundee (147,285).  A further five - Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston, Hamilton, and Cumbernauld - are home to over 100,000 people.

There are still 33 Scottish Counties, although the traditional county names and some of the boundaries were changed in 1975. There are more than 790 offshire islands in Scotland, and the majority are found in the main island groups of the Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands, the Inner Hebrides, and the Outer Hebrides.

The 56 highest mountains in Great Britain are all in Scotland.  The highest is Ben Nevis, at a height of 1344m.  Ben Macdhui, at 1309m, is the only other British mountain that tops 1300m.  In fact, of the 200 highest peaks, only eleven are found outside of Scotland (nine in Wales, and two in England).  There are six mountain ranges in the country, of which the Cairngorms and the Grampians are the best known.  In addition, there are the Cuilin (on the Isle of Skye), the Monadhliath Mountains, the Crianlarich Hills, and the Tyndrum Hills.

  Ben Nevis by Kitty Terwolbeck is licensed under CC BY 2.0 

There are over 31,000 freshwater lochs in Scotland, and the country provides seven of the ten largest lakes in Great Britain.  However, the two largest lakes (Lough Neagh, and Lower Lough Erne) are found in Northern Ireland.

Interestingly, Loch Ness (21.78 mi sq) is only the second largest in Scotland - by area - (behind Loch Lomond at 27.45 mi sq), but because of the depth, the volume of the water in the loch is almost double that of all the lakes in England and Wales combined!  Having said that, while Loch Ness has the greatest mean depth at 132m, Loch Morar is the deepest of all Scottish lochs with a maximum depth of 310m.

 

 Reflections, Loch Morar by supermoving is licensed under CC BY 2.0  

Staying on the water, seven of the longest British rivers are to be found "north of the border".  The longest is the River Tay, which is 117 miles in length.  This makes it the seventh longest river in Great Britain.  The Tay is closely followed by the River Spey (107 miles long), and the River Clyde (106 miles long).  The fourth longest Scottish River is the Tweed, which actually enters the North Sea in England.  However, most of its 96 miles flows through the Borders region of Scotland.  The final three that are over 70 miles in length are the Dee (87), Don (80), and Nith (71).  It is important not to confuse the Scottish Don and Dee with the English rivers Don and Dee!