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- This article pertains to the geographic region of the Scottish Highlands. See Highlander for alternate meanings
The Scottish Highlands are the mountainous regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault.
The area is generally sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region. Regional administrative centres include Inverness. The Highland Council is the administrative body for around 40% of this area; the remainder is divided between the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Moray, Perth and Kinross, and Stirling. Although the Isle of Arran administratively belongs to North Ayrshire, its northern part is generally regarded as part of the Highlands.
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History
Culture
Culturally the area is quite different from the Scottish Lowlands. Most of the Highlands fall into the region known as the Gàidhealtachd, pronounced roughly Gailtahk, which was, within the last hundred years, the Gaelic speaking area of Scotland. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but have slightly different meanings.Highland English is also widely spoken. It is heavily influenced by Roman Catholicism, which was not totally eliminated, and remains strong as opposed to the Lowlands.
Historical geography
In traditional Scottish geography, the Highlands refers to that part of Scotland north-west of a line drawn from Dumbarton to Stonehaven, including the Inner and Outer Hebrides, parts of Perthshire and the County of Bute, but excluding Orkney and Shetland, Caithness, the flat coastal land of the Counties of Nairnshire, Morayshire and Banffshire, and most of East Aberdeenshire. This Highland area differed from the Central Lowlands by language and tradition, better preserving Gaelic speech and customs. Even in a historical sense the Highlanders were a distinct people from the Lowlanders. The City of Inverness is usually regarded as the capital of the Highlands. However, there are several definitions of the Highland line, which create further confusion.
Highland Region
The Highland Region, created in 1975, is now a unitary authority area which excludes a large chunk of the southern and eastern Highlands, and the Western Isles, but includes Caithness. In Highland Council literature there is evident confusion, perhaps deliberate, of the Highland authority area with that of the traditional Scottish Highlands, and the council has erected controversial signs in the Pass of Drumochter, between Glen Garry and Dalwhinnie, saying "Welcome to the Highlands".
Highlands and Islands
Much of the Scottish Highlands area overlaps the Highlands and Islands area. An electoral area called Highlands and Islands is used in elections to the Scottish Parliament: this area includes Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Highland Region, the Western Isles and most of the Argyll and Bute and Moray local authority areas. Highlands and Islands may have slightly different meanings in other contexts, as, for example, in Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Highland Park
Highland Park is a single malt Scotch whisky, which is distilled in Orkney, which is not part of either the administrative area of Highland nor the Scottish Highlands.
Highlands
The QuirangGeology
The Highlands consist of an old dissected plateau, or block, of ancient crystalline rocks with incised valleys and lochs carved by the action of mountain streams and by ice, the resulting topography being a wide area of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have nearly the same height above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon the amount of denudation to which the plateau has been subjected in various places.
Towns and villages
- Aberfeldy, Altnaharra, Applecross, Aviemore
- Back of Keppoch, Ballachulish, Beauly, Blair Atholl, Braemar
- Cannich,Coldbackie,Crianlarich, Cromarty Culbokie
- Dalwhinnie, Dornie, Dornoch, Durness
- Fort Augustus, Fort William
- Gairloch, Glencoe, Glenelg
- Inveraray, Invermoriston, Inverness (a city since 2001)
- Killin, Kingussie, Kinlochleven, Kinlochewe, Kinloch Rannoch, Kyle of Lochalsh
- Lochinver
- Mallaig
- Nairn, Newtonmore, North Ballachulish, Nethy Bridge
- Oban
- Plockton, Poolewe
- South Ballachulish, Strathpeffer, Strathy
- Taynuilt, Thurso, Tobermory, Tomintoul, Tongue, Torridon
- Ullapool
- Wick
Places of interest
- Castle Tioram
- Glencoe Ski Centre
- Glen Orchy
- Glen Spean
- Loch Linnhe
- Loch Lochy
- Rannoch Moor
- Tor Castle
- Glen Coe
- Glen Lyon
- Loch Rannoch
- Loch Katrine
- West Highland Way
- Eilean Donan
Historic names of areas in the Highlands include:
- Sutherland
- Assynt
- Coigach
- Kintail
- Knoydart
- Morar
- Moidart
- Sunart
- Ardnamurchan
- Morvern
- Ardgour
- Lochaber
- Appin
- Lorne
- Argyll
- Knapdale
- Cowal
- Strathspey
- Badenoch
- Rannoch
- Atholl
- Breadalbane
- Trossachs