The Minch topographic map

Some have called Edinburgh the Athens of the North for a variety of reasons. The earliest comparison between the two cities showed that they had a similar topography, with the Castle Rock of Edinburgh performing a similar role to the Athenian Acropolis. Both of them had flatter, fertile agricultural land…

Average elevation: 104 m

Glasgow itself was reputed to have been founded by the Christian missionary Saint Mungo in the 6th century. He established a church on the Molendinar Burn, where the present Glasgow Cathedral stands, and in the following years Glasgow became a religious centre. Glasgow grew over the following centuries. The…

Average elevation: 128 m

Edinburgh has been popularly called the Athens of the North since the early 19th century. References to Athens, such as Athens of Britain and Modern Athens, had been made as early as the 1760s. The similarities were seen to be topographical but also intellectual. Edinburgh's Castle Rock reminded returning…

Average elevation: 118 m

Average elevation: 163 m

Beyond Loch Snizort to the west of Trotternish is the Waternish peninsula, which ends in Ardmore Point's double rock arch. Duirinish peninsula is separated from Waternish by Loch Dunvegan, which contains the island of Isay. It is ringed by sea cliffs that reach 296 metres (971 feet) on the west at Waterstein…

Average elevation: 63 m

Average elevation: 245 m

Glasgow itself was reputed to have been founded by the Christian missionary Saint Mungo in the 6th century. He established a church on the Molendinar Burn, where the present Glasgow Cathedral stands, and in the following years Glasgow became a religious centre. Glasgow grew over the following centuries as part…

Average elevation: 128 m

Ben Nevis has a highland (alpine) maritime (oceanic) polar climate (ET climate in the Köppen classification). Ben Nevis's elevation, maritime location and topography frequently lead to cool and cloudy weather conditions, which can pose a danger to ill-equipped walkers. According to the observations carried…

Average elevation: 912 m

Average elevation: 184 m

Fort William has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with moderate, but generally cool, temperatures and abundant precipitation. In the towns immediate vicinity, there are significant variations in elevation, which leads to some uninhabited areas near the town having a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc), or, at the absolute…

Average elevation: 122 m

Average elevation: 64 m

Dundee sits on the north bank of the Firth of Tay on the eastern, North Sea Coast of Scotland. The city lies 36.1 miles (58 km) NNE of Edinburgh and 360.6 miles (580 km) NNW of London. The built-up area occupies a roughly rectangular shape 8.3 miles (13 km) long by 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, aligned in an east to…

Average elevation: 82 m

Two weather stations collect climate data for the area, Aberdeen/Dyce Airport, and Craibstone. Both are about 4 1⁄2 miles (7 km) to the north west of the city centre, and given that they are in close proximity to each other, exhibit very similar climatic regimes. Dyce tends to have marginally warmer daytime…

Average elevation: 52 m

Walter Scott's 1822 novel The Pirate is set in "a remote part of Shetland", and was inspired by his 1814 visit to the islands. The name Jarlshof meaning "Earl's Mansion" is a coinage of his. Robert Cowie, a doctor born in Lerwick published the 1874 work.Shetland: Descriptive and Historical; Being a Graduation…

Average elevation: 4 m

Ballater (/ˈbælətər/, Scottish Gaelic: Bealadair) is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, immediately east of the Cairngorm Mountains. Situated at an elevation of 213 metres (699 feet), Ballater is a centre for hikers and known for its spring water, once said to cure scrofula. It is home…

Average elevation: 360 m

Average elevation: 17 m

Average elevation: 80 m

Average elevation: 338 m

Average elevation: 441 m

Average elevation: 49 m

Average elevation: 490 m

Ben Klibreck (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Chlìbric) is a Scottish mountain located in central Sutherland. It is an isolated mountain, rising above a large area of moorland. The highest point, Meall nan Con (the mound of the dogs), rises to 962 metres (3,156 ft) elevation and is therefore the second most northerly…

Average elevation: 551 m

Canisp is an isolated mountain that stands in the Glencanisp Forest, a large rock and water wilderness. It has a topographic prominence of 691 metres (2,267 ft). Canisp has little vegetation, even on its lower slopes large areas of Gneiss (one of the oldest rocks in the world) are visible on the surface.

Average elevation: 467 m

Average elevation: 552 m

Average elevation: 612 m

Average elevation: 191 m

Average elevation: 683 m

Average elevation: 149 m

Angus can be split into three geographic areas. To the north and west, the topography is mountainous. This is the area of the Grampian Mountains, Mounth hills and Five Glens of Angus, which is sparsely populated and where the main industry is hill farming. Glas Maol – the highest point in Angus at 1,068 m…

Average elevation: 254 m

Average elevation: 132 m

The number of hours of natural sunshine in South Ayrshire is controlled by the length of day and by cloudiness. In general, December is the dullest month and May or June the sunniest. Sunshine duration decreases with increasing altitude, increasing latitude and distance from the coast. Local topography also…

Average elevation: 151 m

Average elevation: 199 m

Average elevation: 122 m

Average elevation: 52 m

Average elevation: 172 m

Average elevation: 177 m

Average elevation: 333 m

Average elevation: 67 m

The southern group of islands surrounds Scapa Flow. Hoy, to the west, is the second largest of the Orkney Isles and Ward Hill at its northern end is the highest elevation in the archipelago. The Old Man of Hoy is a well-known seastack. Graemsay and Flotta are both linked by ferry to the Mainland and Hoy, and…

Average elevation: 7 m

According to the 1846 A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, "This parish, formerly called Skirdustan, signifying, in the Gaelic tongue, 'the division of Dustan', its tutelary saint, derived its present name from its situation at the mouth of a noisy burn, which discharges itself into the river Spey."

Average elevation: 160 m

Average elevation: 94 m

Average elevation: 31 m

Average elevation: 33 m

Airdrie's name first appeared in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland (Registrum Magni Sigilii Regum Scotorum) in 1373 as Ardre. By 1546 it had become Ardry and by 1587 it was known as Ardrie. In 1630 it finally appeared in the Register as Airdrie. Given the topography of the area, the most likely…

Average elevation: 135 m

Average elevation: 110 m

Average elevation: 98 m

Average elevation: 289 m

Average elevation: 74 m

Average elevation: 431 m

Average elevation: 104 m

Average elevation: 431 m

Average elevation: 23 m

Average elevation: 31 m

Average elevation: 236 m

The island has three endemic species of tree, the Arran whitebeams. These trees are the Scottish or Arran whitebeam (Sorbus arranensis), the bastard mountain ash or cut-leaved whitebeam (Sorbus pseudofennica) and the Catacol whitebeam (Sorbus pseudomeinichii). If rarity is measured by numbers alone they are…

Average elevation: 98 m

Average elevation: 122 m

Average elevation: 191 m

Ailsa Craig and the County Antrim coast of Ulster and Rathlin Island are all clearly visible from the Mull. On clearer days it is also possible to make out Malin Head in Inishowen in County Donegal in the west of Ulster, and the Ayrshire coast on the other side of Ailsa Craig. Other islands in the Firth of…

Average elevation: 84 m

Average elevation: 194 m

Average elevation: 432 m

Average elevation: 105 m

Average elevation: 281 m

Average elevation: 376 m

Average elevation: 466 m

Average elevation: 194 m

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Average elevation: 257 m

Average elevation: 92 m

Average elevation: 353 m

Average elevation: 82 m

Average elevation: 3 m

Average elevation: 32 m

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Average elevation: 161 m

Average elevation: 101 m

Average elevation: 347 m

Average elevation: 57 m

Average elevation: 34 m

Average elevation: 163 m

Falkirk is located in an area of undulating topography between the Slamannan Plateau and the upper reaches of the Firth of Forth. The area to the north of Falkirk is part of the floodplain of the River Carron. Two tributaries of the River Carron - the East Burn and the West Burn flow through the town and form…

Average elevation: 42 m

Average elevation: 141 m

Average elevation: 154 m

Ben Mor Coigach (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Mhòr na Còigich) is the highest point along a ridge rising steeply from Loch Broom, in the far northwest of Scotland. It rises above the Coigach peninsula in the county of Ross and Cromarty, 10 kilometres northwest of Ullapool, reaching a height of 743 metres (2,438…

Average elevation: 452 m

In 2012, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission decided to replace the existing cairn, which had deteriorated in the harsh climate, with a 600-kilogramme granite marker to identify and protect the burial site. At an elevation of around 600 m (2,000 ft), the burial site on Ben More Assynt is one of the…

Average elevation: 677 m

Average elevation: 25 m

Average elevation: 99 m

Average elevation: 331 m

The topography of Coatbridge was an important feature in the town's development during the industrial revolution. Coatbridge rests 60 metres below the "Slamannan plateau" and neighbouring Airdrie sits on its edge. The low-lying flat ground of Coatbridge was a vital factor in the siting of the town's blast…

Average elevation: 100 m

Average elevation: 80 m

Average elevation: 132 m

Average elevation: 67 m

Average elevation: 236 m

Two weather stations collect climate data for the area, Aberdeen/Dyce Airport, and Craibstone. Both are about 4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) to the north west of the city centre, and given that they are in close proximity to each other, exhibit very similar climatic regimes. Dyce tends to have marginally warmer daytime…

Average elevation: 46 m

Average elevation: 28 m

Average elevation: 183 m

Average elevation: 84 m

Caithness extends about 30 miles (48 km) north-south and about 30 miles (48 km) east-west, with a roughly triangular-shaped area of about 712 sq mi (1,840 km2). The topography is generally flat, in contrast to the majority of the remainder of the North of Scotland. Until the latter part of the 20th century…

Average elevation: 79 m

Average elevation: 257 m

Average elevation: 163 m