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This article is about the country. For other uses, see Scotland (disambiguation).
Scotland (Gaelic: Alba) is a nation in northwest Europe and one of the four constituent countries The website of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom states that "The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland". Countries within a country. 10 Downing Street. Retrieved on 2007-09-10. of the United Kingdom. It occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shares a land border to the south with England. It 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 southwest. Apart from the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790 islands.Scottish Executive Resources. Scotland in Short. Scottish Executive (17 February 2007). Retrieved on 2006-09-14.
Edinburgh, the country\'s capital and second largest city, is one of Europe\'s largest financial centres.Information for Journalists. Edinburgh, Inspiring Capital. Edinburghbrand.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-20. "Edinburgh is Europe\'s sixth largest fund management centre". Scotland\'s largest city is Glasgow, which is the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sectorThe Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order. The Stationery Office Limited (1999). Retrieved on 2007-09-20. of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union.
The Kingdom of Scotland was an independent state until May 1 1707, when the Acts of Union, despite widespread protest across Scotland, Devine, T.M (1999) The Scottish Nation 1700–2000. Penguin Books. Page 9. ISBN 0-14-023004-1 "From that point on anti-union demonstrations were common in the capital. In November rioting spread to the south west, that stranglehold of strict Calvinism and covenanting tradition. The Glasgow mob rose against union sympathisers in disturbances which lasted intermittently for over a month."Act of Union 1707 Mob unrest and disorder. The House of Lords (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-23. resulted in a union with the Kingdom of England to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. Scotland\'s legal system continues to be separate from those of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland; Scotland still constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in public and in private law.Collier, J.G. (2001) Conflict of Laws (Third edition)(pdf) Cambridge University Press. "For the purposes of the English conflict of laws, every country in the world which is not part of England and Wales is a foreign country and its foreign laws. This means that not only totally foreign independent countries such as France or Russia... are foreign countries but also British Colonies such as the Falkland Islands. Moreover, the other parts of the United Kingdom – Scotland and Northern Ireland – are foreign countries for present purposes, as are the other British Islands, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey." The continued independence of Scots law, the Scottish education system, and the Church of Scotland have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and Scottish national identity since the Union. Devine, T.M (1999), The Scottish Nation 1700–2000, P.288–289, ISBN 0-14-023004-1 "created a new and powerful local state run by the Scottish bourgeoisie and reflecting their political and religious values. It was this local state, rather than a distant and usually indifferent Westminster authority, that in effect routinely governed Scotland" However, Scotland is no longer a separate sovereign state and does not have independent membership of either the United Nations or the European Union.
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The founders of Scotland of late medieval legend, Scota with Goídel Glas, voyaging from Egypt, as depicted in a 15th century manuscript of the Scotichronicon of Walter Bower.
Skara Brae, a neolithic settlement, located in the Bay of Skaill, Orkney.
The word Scotland is derived from the Latin Scoti, the term applied to Gaels. The Late Latin word Scotia (land of the Gaels), was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest Scotia was being used to refer to (Gaelic-speaking) Scotland north of the river Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, both derived from the Gaelic Alba.Ayto, John; Ian Crofton. Brewer\'s Britain & Ireland : The History, Culture, Folklore and Etymology of 7500 Places in These Islands. WN. ISBN 030435385X. The use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages.
Repeated glaciations, which covered the entire land-mass of modern Scotland, have destroyed any traces of human habitation before the Mesolithic period. It is believed that the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, as the ice sheet retreated after the last glaciation.The earliest known evidence is a flint arrowhead from Islay. See Moffat, Alistair (2005) Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History. London. Thames & Hudson. Page 42.Sites at Cramond dated to 8500 BC and near Kinloch, Rùm from 7700 BC provide the earliest known evidence of human occupation in Scotland. See "The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map: Rubbish dump reveals time-capsule of Scotland\'s earliest settlements" megalithic.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2008 and Edwards, Kevin J. and Whittington, Graeme "Vegetation Change" in Edwards, Kevin J. & Ralston, Ian B.M. (Eds) (2003) Scotland After the Ice Age: Environment, Archaeology and History, 8000 BC–AD 1000. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press. Page 70. Groups of settlers began building the first permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the Mainland of Orkney dates from this period. Neolithic habitation, burial and ritual sites are particularly common and well-preserved in the Northern Isles and Western Isles, where lack of trees led to most structures being built of local stone.Pryor, Francis (2003). Britain BC. London: HarperPerennial, pp. 98–104 & 246–250. ISBN 978-0007126934.
The written protohistory of Scotland began with the arrival of the Roman Empire in southern and central Great Britain, when the Romans occupied what is now England and Wales, administering it as a province called Britannia. Roman invasions and occupations of southern Scotland were a series of brief interludes. In 83–4 AD the general Gnaeus Julius Agricola defeated the Caledonians at the battle of Mons Graupius, and Roman forts were briefly set along the Gask Ridge close to the Highland line (none are known to have been constructed beyond that line). Three years after the battle the Roman armies had withdrawn to the Southern Uplands.Hanson, William S. The Roman Presence: Brief Interludes, in Edwards, Kevin J. & Ralston, Ian B.M. (Eds) (2003) Scotland After the Ice Age: Environment, Archeology and History, 8000 BC - AD 1000. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press They erected Hadrian\'s Wall to control tribes on both sides of the wall,Snyder, Christopher A. (2003), The Britons, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 0-631-22260-X and the Limes Britannicus became the northern border of the empire, although the army held the Antonine Wall in the Central Lowlands for two short periods—the last of these during the time of Emperor Septimius Severus from 208 until 210.Robertson, Anne S. (1960) The Antonine Wall. Glasgow Archaeological Society. The extent of Roman military occupation of any significant part of Scotland was limited to a total of about 40 years, although their influence on the southern section of the country occupied by Brythonic tribes such as the Votadini and Damnonii would still have been considerable.
A replica of the Pictish Hilton of Cadboll Stone.
The Kingdom of the Picts (based in Fortriu by the 6th century) was the state which eventually became known as "Alba" or "Scotland". The development of "Pictland", according to the historical model developed by Peter Heather, was a natural response to Roman imperialism.Peter Heather, "State Formation in Europe in the First Millennium A.D.", in Barbara Crawford (ed.), Scotland in Dark Ages Europe, (Aberdeen, 1994), pp. 47–63 Another view places emphasis on the Battle of Dunnichen, and the reign of Bridei m. Beli (671–693), with another period of consolidation in the reign of Óengus mac Fergusa (732–761).For instance, Alex Woolf, "The Verturian Hegemony: a mirror in the North", in M. P. Brown & C. A. Farr, (eds.), Mercia: an Anglo-Saxon Kingdom in Europe, (Leicester, 2001), pp. 106–11. The Kingdom of the Picts as it was in the early 8th century, when Bede was writing, was largely the same as the kingdom of the Scots in the reign of Alexander (1107–1124). However, by the tenth century, the Pictish kingdom was dominated by what we can recognise as Gaelic culture, and had developed an Irish conquest myth around the ancestor of the contemporary royal dynasty, Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin). Brown, Dauvit (1997). "Dunkeld and the origin of Scottish identity". Innes Review (48): pp. 112–124. Glasgow: Scottish Catholic Historical Association. reprinted in Dauvit Broun and Thomas Owen Clancy (eds.), (1999)Spes Scotorum: Hope of Scots, Edinburgh: T.& T.Clark, pp. 95–111. ISBN 978-0567086822Brown, Dauvit (2001). "Kenneth mac Alpin", in M. Lynch: The Oxford Companion to Scottish History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.359. ISBN 978-0192116963. Foster, Sally (1996). Picts, Gaels and Scots (Historic Scotland). London: Batsford. ISBN 978-0713474855.
From a base of territory in eastern Scotland north of the River Forth and south of the River Oykel, the kingdom acquired control of the lands lying to the north and south. By the 12th century, the kings of Alba had added to their territories the Anglic-speaking land in the south-east and attained overlordship of Gaelic-speaking Galloway and Norse-speaking Caithness; by the end of the 13th century, the kingdom had assumed approximately its modern borders. However, processes of cultural and economic change beginning in the 12th century ensured Scotland looked very different in the later Middle Ages. The stimulus for this was the reign of King David I and the Davidian Revolution. Feudalism, government reorganisation and the first legally defined towns (called burghs) began in this period. These institutions and the immigration of French and Anglo-French knights and churchmen facilitated a process of cultural osmosis, whereby the culture and language of the low-lying and coastal parts of the kingdom\'s original territory in the east became, like the newly-acquired south-east, English-speaking, while the rest of the country retained the Gaelic language, apart from the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland, which remained under Norse rule until 1468.Withers, Charles, W.J. (1984). Gaelic in Scotland, 1698–1981. Edinburgh: John Donald, pp. 16–41;. ISBN 9780859760973. Thomas Owen Clancy. Gaelic Scotland: a brief history. Bòrd na Gàidhlig. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
The death of Alexander III in March 1286, followed by the death of his granddaughter Margaret, Maid of Norway, broke the succession line of Scotland\'s kings. This led to the intervention of Edward I of England, who manipulated this period of confusion to have himself recognised as feudal overlord of Scotland. Edward organised a process to identify the person with the best claim to the vacant crown, which became known as the Great Cause, and this resulted in the enthronement of John Balliol as king. The Scots were resentful of Edward\'s meddling in their affairs and this relationship quickly broke down. War ensued and King John was deposed by his overlord, who took personal control of Scotland. Andrew Moray and William Wallace initially emerged as the principal leaders of the resistance to English rule in what became known as the Wars of Scottish Independence. The nature of the struggle changed dramatically when Robert de Brus, Earl of Carrick, became king (as Robert I). War with England continued for several decades, and a civil war between the Bruce dynasty and their long-term Comyn-Balliol rivals, the flashpoint of which could be traced to the slaying in a Dumfries church of John \'the Red\' Comyn of Badenoch by Bruce and his supporters, lasted until the middle of the 14th century. Although the Bruce dynasty was successful, David II\'s lack of an heir allowed his nephew Robert II to come to the throne and establish the Stewart Dynasty.Grant, Alexander [1984] (1991-06-06). Independence and Nationhood: Scotland, 1306–1469, New Ed edition, Edinburgh University Press, pp. 3–57. ISBN 978-0748602735. Barrow, Geoffrey, W.S. [1965] (2005). Robert Bruce & the Community of the Realm of Scotland, 4th Edition, Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0748620222. The Stewarts ruled Scotland for the remainder of the Middle Ages. The country they ruled experienced greater prosperity from the end of the 14th century through the Scottish Renaissance to the Reformation. This was despite continual warfare with England, the increasing division between Highlands and Lowlands, and a large number of royal minorities.Wormald, Jenny [1981] (1991-06-06). Court, Kirk and Community: Scotland, New Edition, Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0748602766.
The Scottish Parliament Building
In 1603, James VI King of Scots inherited the throne of the Kingdom of England, and became also King James I of England. With the exception of a short period under the Protectorate, Scotland remained a separate state, but there was considerable conflict between the crown and the Covenanters over the form of church government. After the Glorious Revolution and the overthrow of the Roman Catholic James VII by William and Mary, Scotland briefly threatened to select a different Protestant monarch from England.TM Devine (1999) op cit "…Stated that the Scots Parliament had the right to decide on Queen Anne\'s successor, and that England and Scotland could not have the same sovereign in the future unless the London Parliament granted Scots \'Free Communication of trade\'…" In 1707, however, following English action against cross-border trade and free movement, through the Alien Act, the Scots Parliament and the Parliament of England enacted the twin Acts of Union, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain.
The deposed Jacobite Stuart claimants had remained popular in the Highlands and north-east, particularly amongst non-Presbyterians. However, two major Jacobite risings launched from the Highlands in 1715 and 1745 failed to remove the House of Hanover from the British throne. This paved the way for large scale removals of the indigenous populations of the Highlands and Islands, known as the Highland Clearances.
The Scottish Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution made Scotland into an intellectual, commercial and industrial powerhouse. After World War II, Scotland experienced an industrial decline which was particularly severe.Harvie, Christopher (1981) No Gods and Precious Few Heroes: Scotland 1914–80. London. Edward Arnold. Only in recent decades has the country enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance. Economic factors which have contributed to this recovery include a resurgent financial services industry, electronics manufacturing, (see Silicon Glen),See Stewart, Heather, "Celtic Tiger Burns Brighter at Holyrood, The Guardian Unlimited, 6 May 2007 for an account of Scotland\'s economic challenges, especially after the dotcom downturn, as it competes with the emerging Eastern European economies. and the North Sea oil and gas industry."National Planning Framework for Scotland" Scottish Government publication, (web-page last updated 6 April 2006), which states "Since the 1970s, the development of North Sea oil and gas fields has made an important contribution to the Scottish economy, and underpinned prosperity in the North-East." Retrieved on 07 November 2007. The Scottish Parliament was established by the United Kingdom Parliament, by the Scotland Act 1998.
The Arms of Queen Elizabeth II as used in Scotland, a version of which is used by the Scotland Office.
As part of the United Kingdom, the head of state in Scotland is the monarch of the United Kingdom, currently Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952).Scotland was granted limited self-government after a referendum on devolution proposals in 1997. Executive and legislative powers have been constitutionally delegated to, respectively, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood in Edinburgh. The United Kingdom Parliament retains power over a set list of areas explicitly specified in the Scotland Act 1998 as reserved matters, for example, Scotland\'s taxes, social security system, the military, international relations and broadcasting.
The Scottish Parliament has legislative authority for all other areas relating to Scotland, and has limited power to vary income tax, a power it has yet to exercise. The Scottish Parliament can refer devolved matters back to Westminster by passing a Legislative Consent Motion if United Kingdom-wide legislation is considered to be more appropriate for a certain issue. The programmes of legislation enacted by the Scottish Parliament have seen a divergence in the provision of public services compared to the rest of the United Kingdom. For instance, the costs of a university education, and care services for the elderly are free at point of use in Scotland, while fees are paid in the rest of the UK. Scotland was the first country in the UK to ban smoking in enclosed public places.BBC Scotland News Online "Scotland begins pub smoking ban", BBC Scotland News, 2006-03-26. Retrieved on 2006-07-17.
The debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament Building
The Scottish Parliament is a unicameral legislature comprising 129 Members, 73 of whom represent individual constituencies and are elected on a first past the post system; 56 are elected in eight different electoral regions by the additional member system, serving for a four year period. The Queen appoints one Member of the Scottish Parliament, (MSP), on the nomination of the Parliament, to be First Minister. Other Ministers are also appointed by the Queen on the nomination of the Parliament and together with the First Minister they make up the Scottish Government, the executive arm of government."About Scottish Ministers" Scottish Government. Retrieved September 26 2007.In the 2007 election, the Scottish National Party (SNP), which campaigns for Scottish independence, won the largest number of seats of any single party. The leader of the SNP, Alex Salmond, was elected as First Minister, heading a minority government, on May 16 2007. In addition to the SNP, the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party are also represented in the Parliament. Margo MacDonald is the only independent MSP sitting in Parliament.Kerevan, George. "Somewhere over the Rainbow Coalition...", The Scotsman, 2005-05-12. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
Scotland is represented in the British House of Commons by 59 MPs elected from territory-based Scottish constituencies. The Scotland Office represents the UK government in Scotland on reserved matters and represents Scottish interests within the UK government.Scotland Office Charter. Scotland Office website (2004-08-09). Retrieved on 2007-12-22. The Scotland office is led by the Secretary of State for Scotland, who sits in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, the current incumbent being Des Browne."Government of Scotland Facts" Scotland.org - The Official Online Gateway. Retrieved September 26 2007.
Modern Scotland is subdivided in various ways depending on the purpose. For local government, there have been 32 council areas since 1996,"Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994" Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved on 26 September 2007. whose councils are unitary authorities responsible for the provision of all local government services. Community councils are informal organisations that represent specific sub-divisions of a council area.
For the Scottish Parliament, there are 73 constituencies and eight regions. For the Parliament of the United Kingdom there are 59 constituencies. The Scottish fire brigades and police forces are still based on the system of regions introduced in 1975. For healthcare and postal districts, and a number of other governmental and non-governmental organisations such as the churches, there are other long-standing methods of subdividing Scotland for the purposes of administration.
City status in the United Kingdom is determined by letters patent."City status" Department for Constitutional Affairs. Retrieved on 26 September 2007. There are six cities in Scotland: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and more recently Inverness, and Stirling."UK Cities" Department for Constitutional Affairs. Retrieved on 26 September 2007.
Parliament House, in Edinburgh, is the home of the Supreme Courts of Scotland.
Scots law has a basis derived from Roman law,"Tradition and Environment in a time of change", J. A. Lillie (1970). "The law of Scotland has many roots in and affinities with the law of the Romans, the \'Civil Law\' ":History of the Faculty of Law.. The University of Edinburgh School of Law. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. combining features of both uncodified civil law, dating back to the Corpus Juris Civilis, and common law with medieval sources. The terms of the Treaty of Union with England in 1707 guaranteed the continued existence of a separate legal system in Scotland from that of England and Wales.The Articles: legal and miscellaneous, UK Parliament House of Lords (2007). "Article 19: The Scottish legal system and its courts was to remain unchanged":Act of Union 1707. House of Lords. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. Prior to 1611, there were several regional law systems in Scotland, most notably Udal law in Orkney and Shetland, based on old Norse law. Various other systems derived from common Celtic or Brehon laws survived in the Highlands until the 1800s."Law and institutions, Gaelic" & "Law and lawyers" in M. Lynch (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, (Oxford, 2001), pp. 381–382 & 382–386. Udal Law remains relevant to land law in Orkney and Shetland: A General History of Scots Law (20th century). Law Society of Scotland. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.Scots law provides for three types of courts responsible for the administration of justice: civil, criminal and heraldic. The supreme civil court is the Court of Session, although civil appeals can be taken to the House of Lords. The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court. Both courts are housed at Parliament House, in Edinburgh, which was the home of the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland. The sheriff court is the main criminal and civil court. There are 49 sheriff courts throughout the country."Court Information" www.scotcourts.gov.uk. Retrieved on 26 September 207. District courts were introduced in 1975 for minor offences. The Court of the Lord Lyon regulates heraldry.
Scots law is also unique in that it allows three verdicts in criminal cases including the controversial \'not proven\' verdict.Jury Service in Victoria, Chapter 6. This three verdict system is unique to Scotland and has existed there for around 300 years. Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.England may adopt "Not Proven" Verdict. The Journal online. Law Society of Scotland. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.
Map of Scotland
Scotland comprises the northern third of the island of Great Britain, which lies off the northwest coast of Continental Europe. The total land mass is 78,772 km² (30,414 sq mi).Whitaker\'s Almanack (1991) London. J. Whitaker and Sons. Scotland\'s only land border is with England, and runs for 96 kilometres (60 mi) between the basin of the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast and the North Sea is to the east. The island of Ireland lies only 30 kilometres (20 mi) from the southwestern peninsula of Kintyre;Munro, D (1999). Scotland Atlas and Gazetteer. Harper Collins, pp1-2. Norway is 305 kilometres (190 mi) to the east and the Faroes, 270 kilometres (168 mi) to the north. The geographical centre of Scotland lies a few miles from the village of Newtonmore in Badenoch.See "The \'Where Are We\' page" highlandhostel.co.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and England"Uniting the Kingdoms?" National Archives. Retrieved 2006-11-21 and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway. Mackie, J.D. (1969) A History of Scotland. London. Penguin. Important exceptions include the Isle of Man, which having been lost to England in the 14th century is now a crown dependency outside of the United Kingdom; the island groups Orkney and Shetland, which were accquired from Norway in 1472; and Berwick-upon-Tweed, lost to England in 1482.
 Named (HR).png/58px-Scotland (Location) Named (HR).png)
Relief map of Scotland
The whole of Scotland was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages and the landscape is much affected by glaciation. From a geological perspective the country has three main sub-divisions. The Highlands and Islands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland largely comprises ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian which were uplifted during the later Caledonian Orogeny. It is interspersed with igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and Skye Cuillins. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstones found principally along the Moray Firth coast. The Highlands are generally mountainous and the highest elevations in the British Isles are found here, including Ben Nevis, which reaches 1,344 metres (4,409 ft). Scotland has over 790 islands, divided into four main groups: Shetland, Orkney, and the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. There are numerous bodies of freshwater including Loch Lomond and Loch Ness. Some parts of the coastline consist of machair, a low lying dune pasture land.The Central Lowlands is a rift valley mainly comprising Paleozoic formations. Many of these sediments have economic significance for it is here that the coal and iron bearing rocks that fuelled Scotland\'s industrial revolution are to be found. This area has also experienced intense volcanism, Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh being the remnant of a once much larger volcano. This area is relatively low-lying, although even here hills such as the Ochils and Campsie Fells are rarely far from view.
The Southern Uplands are a range of hills almost 200 kilometres (125 mi) long, interspersed with broad valleys. They lie south of a second fault line running from Stranraer towards Dunbar. The geological foundations largely comprise Silurian deposits laid down some 4–500 million years ago.Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins.Murray, W.H. (1973) The Islands of Western Scotland. London. Eyre Methuen ISBN 978-0413303806Murray, W.H. (1968) The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland. London. Collins. ISBN 0002111357
Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British Isles
The climate of Scotland is temperate and oceanic, and tends to be very changeable. It is warmed by the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic, and as such has much milder winters (but cooler, wetter summers) than areas on similar latitudes, for example Copenhagen, Moscow, or the Kamchatka Peninsula on the opposite side of Eurasia. However, temperatures are generally lower than in the rest of the UK, with the coldest ever UK temperature of -27.2 °C (-16.96 °F) recorded at Braemar in the Grampian Mountains, on 11 February 1895.BBC Weather: UK Records BBC.co.uk. Retrieved on 21 September 2007. The same temperature was also recorded In Braemar on 10 January 1982 and at Altnaharra, Highland, on 30 December 1995. Winter maximums average 6 °C (42.8 °F) in the lowlands, with summer maximums averaging 18 °C (64.4 °F). The highest temperature recorded was 32.9 °C (91.22 °F) at Greycrook, Scottish Borders on 9 August 2003.Climate: Scotland. Met Office. Retrieved on 2006-09-14.In general, the west of Scotland is usually warmer than the east, due to the influence of Atlantic ocean currents and the colder surface temperatures of the North Sea. Tiree, in the Inner Hebrides, is one of the sunniest places in the country: it had 300 days of sunshine in 1975. Rainfall varies widely across Scotland. The western highlands of Scotland are the wettest place, with annual rainfall exceeding 3,000 mm (120 in). In comparison, much of lowland Scotland receives less than 800 mm (31 in) annually. Heavy snowfall is not common in the lowlands, but becomes more common with altitude. Braemar experiences an average of 59 snow days per year,Scottish Weather Part One BBC.co.uk Retrieved on 21 September 2007 while coastal areas have an average of fewer than 10 days.
On the high mountain tops species including Ptarmigan, Mountain Hare and Stoat can be seen in their white colour phase during winter months."State of the Park Report. Chapter 2: Natural Resources"(pdf) (2006) Cairngorms National Park Authority. Retrieved 14 October 2007. Remnants of native Scots Pine forest existPreston, C.D., Pearman, D.A., & Dines, T.D. (2002) New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Oxford University Press. and within these areas the Scottish Crossbill, Britain\'s only endemic bird, can be found alongside Capercaillie, Wildcat, Red Squirrel and Pine Marten.Gooders, J. (1994) Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland. London. Kingfisher.Matthews, L.H. (1968) British Mammals. London. Bloomsbury.
The flora of the country is varied incorporating both deciduous and coniferous woodland and moorland and tundra species. However, large scale commercial tree planting and the management of upland moorland habitat for the grazing of sheep and commercial field sport activities impacts upon the distribution of indigenous plants and animals.Integrated Upland Management for Wildlife, Field Sports, Agriculture & Public Enjoyment (pdf) (September 1999) Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 14 October 2007 The Fortingall Yew may be 5,000 years old and is probably the oldest living thing in Europe."The Fortingall Yew" Forestry Commission. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
A drilling rig located in the North Sea
Scotland has a western style open mixed economy which is closely linked with that of the rest of Europe and the wider world. Traditionally, the Scottish economy has been dominated by heavy industry underpinned by the shipbuilding in Glasgow, coal mining and steel industries.
Pacific Quay on the River Clyde, an example of the regeneration of Glasgow and the diversifying Scottish economy
Petroleum related industries associated with the extraction of North Sea oil have also been important employers from the 1970s, especially in the north east of Scotland. De-industrialisation during the 1970s and 1980s saw a shift from a manufacturing focus towards a more services orientated economy. Edinburgh is the financial services centre of Scotland and the sixth largest financial centre in Europe in terms of funds under management, behind London, Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich and Amsterdam,Milner M. and Treanor J.. "Devolution may broaden financial sector\'s view", The Guardian, 1999-06-02. Retrieved on 2006-08-08. with many large finance firms based there, including: the Royal Bank of Scotland (the second largest bank in Europe); HBOS (owners of the Bank of Scotland); and Standard Life.In 2005, total Scottish exports (excluding intra-UK trade) were provisionally estimated to be £17.5 billion, of which 70% (£12.2 billion) were attributable to manufacturing.Global Connections Survey. Scottish Executive. Retrieved on 2006-12-03. Scotland\'s primary exports include whisky, electronics and financial services. The United States, The Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain constitute the country\'s major export markets. In 2006, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Scotland was just over £86 billion, giving a per capita GDP of £16,900.The Scottish Executive (2006). Scottish Economic Statistics. The Scottish Executive. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.Office of National Statistics (2006-12-15). Regional, sub-regional and local gross value added 2005. Office of National Statistics. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
Tourism is widely recognised as a key contributor to the Scottish economy. A briefing published in 2002 by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, (SPICe), for the Scottish Parliament\'s Enterprise and Life Long Learning Committee, stated that tourism accounted for up to 5% of GDP and 7.5% of employment.The Economics of Tourism. SPICe (2002). Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
As of November 2007 the unemployment rate in Scotland stood at 4.9%—lower than the UK average and that of the majority of EU countries.November Labour Market statistics for Scotland. Scotland Office. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
Although the Bank of England is the
