Shetland Islands
Old Norse Hjaltland `high land´ or ` Hjalte's land´
Islands and unitary authority off the north coast of Scotland,
80 km/50 mi northeast of the Orkney Islands, an important centre
of the North Sea oil industry, and the most northerly part of
the UK
Area:
1,452 sq km/560 sq mi
Towns:
Lerwick (administrative headquarters), on Mainland, largest of 12 inhabited
islands
Physical:
The 100 islands are mostly bleak, hilly, and clad in moorland. The
climate is moist, cool, and windy; in summer there is almost perpetual
daylight, whilst winter days are very short. On clear winter nights,
the aurora borealis (`northern lights´) can frequently be seen
in the sky
Industries:
Processed fish, handknits from Fair Isle and Unst, herring fishing,
salmon farming, cattle and sheep farming; large oil and gas fields
west of Shetland; Europe's largest oil port is Sullom Voe, Mainland;
production at Foinaven oilfield, the first to be developed in
Atlantic waters; tourism
Population:
(1995) 23,100
History:
Dialect derived from Norse, the islands having been a Norse dependency
from the 9th century until 1472 when they were annexed by Scotland.
Economy
A buoyant mixed economy which had prospered with the development of
the North Sea oil industry. Traditional sectors still play an
important part in the economy.
Archaeology
Shetland is rich in archaeological sites, the best known of which are
Jarlshof, Mousa, and Clickhimin Broch. Clickhimin Broch forms
an island at the end of a causeway near Lerwick and was inhabited
from c. 6 BC to AD 5. At Mousa, the Picts successfully sought
refuge from Roman slave hunters. The settlement site at Jarlshof
dates from the Bronze Age.
Environment
In 1993 the Braer ran aground on Shetland spilling 85,000 tonnes of
oil. By February 1994, 50,000 birds, mostly guillemots and other
fish- eating species, were washed up around the Islands. They
appeared to have starved to death. There are 78 Sites of Special
Scientific Interest, three National Nature Reserves, nine Special
Protection Areas, and one National Scenic Area.
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