In Focus - Discover Scotland: Experience the Best of Scotland - page 634

The Land
Scotland's mainland can be neatly divided into three. The southern Uplands, ranges of
rounded hills bounded by fertile coastal plains, extend south from Girvan in Ayrshire to
Dunbar in East Lothian.
The central Lowlands stretch from Glasgow and Ayr in the west to Edinburgh and Dun-
dee in the east. This area is underlaid by the beds of coal and oil shale that fuelled Scot-
land's industrial revolution. Though it's only a fifth of the nation by land area, most of the
country's industry, its two largest cities and 80% of the population are here.
Another great geological divide - the Highland Boundary Fault - runs from Helens-
burgh in the west to Stonehaven on the east coast, and marks the southern edge of the
Scottish Highlands.
Offshore, some 800 islands are concentrated in four main groups: Shetlands, Orkneys,
Outer Hebrides and Inner Hebrides.
The Water
It rains a lot in Scotland - some parts of the western Highlands get over 4.5m of it a year -
so it's not surprising that about 3% of Scotland's land surface is fresh water. Lochs, rivers
and burns form the majority of this, but about a third is wetlands: the peat bogs that form
so much of the Highland and island landscape.
Mammals
Britain's largest land animal, the red deer, is present in large numbers, as is the more com-
mon roe deer. You'll see them in the Highlands.
Otters are found in most parts of Scotland, around the coast and along salmon and trout
rivers. The best places to spot them are in the northwest, especially on Skye.
Scotland is home to 75% of Britain's red squirrel population; they've been pushed out
in most of the rest of the country by the dominant grey squirrels, introduced from North
America.
The waters off Scotland's north and west coasts are rich in marine mammals. Dolphins
and porpoises are fairly common, and in summer, minke whales are regular visitors. Orcas
are occasionally sighted, and seals are widespread.