User:Ben MacDui/Archive 1

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[edit] First draft of Scot:Geog

[[User:Ben MacDui/Scotland/Geography redraft Mais oui!,

Here is a first draft, with one deliberate mistake.

(NB I am continuing to edit and am now using the 'alternative version' which puts geology and geomorphology together.)

The net result is similar in size to the existing piece, excluding references. Not absolutely everything is referenced, but hopefully it passes muster. Better than none at all anyway.

Structural issues: the more I look at it, the more incoherent [Scotland] is (ambiguity intended).

I have incorporated 'demographics' into 'Human Geography' to avoid repitition. Language and religion are, absurdly, sub-sections of demographics. Amend to sections.

'Subdivisions' should be renamed 'Geographical sub-divisions' and placed within the 'Geography' heading.

I have created a short flora and fauna section. I am thinking of merging this with climate. A Scotland article without the wild cat is a poor show.

Most of the stuff I removed is at the end for ease of reference. I will delete it prior to offering a more public viewing.

Do you think the National archive ref will wind the nationalists up unduly? It's quite accidental.

Why do we have endless ramblings about long-forgotten medieval kings in the main article (very little of it referenced), and nothing about Watt, Kelvin and Fleming? Or Hume, or Adam Smith. Nothing that I can see about renewable energy either - I will add something elsewhere although I can see why trying to keep track of 'Scotland' could be a wearisome task. I'm back off to the [Flannan Isles asap!

[edit] Geography, geology and demographics

Main article: Geography of Scotland

Scotland comprises the northern third of the island of [[Great Britain, which lies off the coast of north west [[Europe. The total land mass is 78,772 [[square kilometres|km2 (30,414 [[square mile|mi2).[1] Scotland's only land border is with [[England, and runs for 96 [[kilometres (60 [[miles) between 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 south western peninsula of [[Kintyre], [[Norway] is 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the north east, and the [[Faroes] and [[Iceland] are to the north.

The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the [[1237] [[Treaty of York] between Scotland and [[England[2] and the [[1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and [[Norway.[3] Exceptions include the [[Isle of Man, which is now a [[crown dependency outside the United Kingdom, and the 15th century acquisitions of [[Orkney] and [[Shetland.[1]

[edit] Geology & Geomorphology

{{main|Geology 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 [[geology|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 consists largely of ancient rocks from the [[Cambrian and [[Precambrian which were uplifted during the later [[Caledonian Orogeny. These foundations are interspersed with many [[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 [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands are generally mountainous and are bisected by the [[Great Glen. The highest elevations in the [[British Isles are found here, including (though it pains me to admit it) [[Ben Nevis, the highest peak at 1,344 [[metres (4,409 [[Foot (unit of length)|ft). Scotland has over 790 islands, divided into four main groups: [[Shetland Islands|Shetland, [[Orkney Islands|Orkney, and the [[Hebrides, sub-divided into the [[Inner Hebrides and [[Outer Hebrides. There are numerous bodies of [[freshwater including [[Loch Lomond and [[Loch Ness.

The [[Central Lowlands is a [[rift valley mainly made of [[Paleozoic formations. Many of these sediments have economic significance for it is here that the coal and iron bearing rocks that fuelled the industrial revolution are to be found. This area has also experienced intense [[vulcanism, [[Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh|Arthur’s Seat in [[Edinburgh being the remnant of a once much larger [[volcano active in the [[Carboniferous period some 300 million years ago. Also known as the Midland Valley, this area is relatively low-lying, although even here hills such as the [[Ochil Hills|Ochils and [[Campsie Fells are rarely far from view.

The Southern Uplands are a range of hills almost 200 km (125 miles) long, interspersed with broad valleys. They lie south of a second fault line running from [[Stranraer towards [[Dunbar. The geological foundations are largely made of [[Silurian deposits laid down some 4-500 million years ago.[4][5][6]

[edit] Human Geography & Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Scotland

The [[Central Lowlands|Central Belt is where most of the population reside and the most industry is located. The [[Glasgow conurbation is to the west whilst the other three main cities of [[Edinburgh, [[Dundee and [[Aberdeen lie on the east coast. The Highlands are sparsely populated although the main town of [[Inverness and environs has experienced rapid growth in recent years. In general only the more accessible and larger islands retain human populations and fewer than 90 are currently inhabited. The Southern Uplands are essentially rural in nature and dominated by agriculture and forestry.[7][8]

[[Image:Wfm buchanan street.jpg|thumb|left|150px|People on [[Buchanan Street in [[Glasgow.

The population of Scotland in the 2001 census was 5,062,011. This has risen to 5,094,800 according to July 2005 estimates.[9] This would make Scotland the 112th largest [[List of countries by population|country by population if it were a [[Sovereignty|sovereign [[state. Although Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland it is not the largest [[City status in the United Kingdom|city. With a population of 629,501, this honour falls to [[Glasgow. The highest concentration of population in Scotland is in the [[Greater Glasgow urban conurbation, with a population of 2.2 million, almost half of Scotland's population.[10][11]

Due to immigration since [[World War II, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee have significant Asian and Scottish Asian populations.[12] Since the recent [[Enlargement of the European Union there has been an increased number of people from [[Central Europe|Central and [[Eastern Europe moving to Scotland, and it is estimated that there are between 40,000 and 50,000 [[Poles now living in Scotland.[13] As of [[2003, there are 16,315 [[Overseas Chinese|Chinese people in Scotland.[14]

[edit] Climate and natural history

Remove or amend inaccurate info about Tiree. It is 'one of' the sunniest places.

[edit] Flora and Fauna

Scotland's wildlife is typical of the north west of [[Europe although several of the larger mammals such as the [[brown bear, [[wolf and [[walrus were hunted to extinction in historic times. A population of [[wild cats remains.[15] There are important populations of [[seals and internationally significant nesting grounds for a variety of seabirds such as [[northern gannets.[16] The [[golden eagle is something of a national icon, and [[white-tailed eagles and [[ospreys are recent re-colonisations. The [[Scottish crossbill is Britain's only endemic bird.[17] The flora of the country is varied incorporating both [[deciduous and [[coniferous woodlands, and [[moorland and [[tundra species. Significant remnants of the native [[Scots Pine forest, can be found in places.[18]

  1. ^ a b Whitaker's Almanack (1991) London. J. Whitaker and Sons.
  2. ^ http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/utk/scotland/conquered.htm Retrieved 21.11.06
  3. ^ Mackie, J.D. (1969) A History of Scotland. London. Penguin.
  4. ^ Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins.
  5. ^ Murray, W.H. (1973) The Islands of Western Scotland. London. Eyre Methuen
  6. ^ Murray, W.H. (1977) The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland. London. Collins.
  7. ^ Clapperton, C.M. (ed) (1983) Scotland: A New Study. London. David & Charles.
  8. ^ Miller, J. (2004) Inverness. Edinburgh. Birlinn.
  9. ^ Scotland's Population rises for the third year in a row. General Register Office for Scotland April 2006
  10. ^ Strathclyde Passenger Transport [1]
  11. ^ TalentScotland, Scottish Enterprise [2]
  12. ^ Urdustan. net 2004 Scotland speaks Urdu
  13. ^ Sunday Herald August 6, 2005 The Pole Position
  14. ^ Scottish Executive, International Relations [3]
  15. ^ Matthews, L.H. (1968) British Mammals. London. Bloomsbury.
  16. ^ Fraser Darling, F. & Boyd, J.M. (1969) Natural History in the Highlands and Islands. London. Bloomsbury.
  17. ^ Gooders, J. (1994) Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland. London. Kingfisher.
  18. ^ Preston, C.D., Pearman, D.A., & Dines, T.D. (2002) New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Oxford University Press.


[edit] Add to Econ Section

In addition to the economically important North Sea [[oil deposits, Scotland has an abundance or renewable energy resources(ref) and has made a contribution to the [[Kyoto protocol by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 16% from 1990 to 2006. [1]

[edit] removed

Scotland has the highest proportion of redheads of any country worldwide with around 13% of the population having naturally red hair. A further 40% of Scots carry the Mc1r variant gene which results in red hair. (interesting but no ref)

and 18.2% of international students at [[List of universities in Scotland|Scottish Universities come from [[China, making them the largest international student group in Scotland

For example, Aleksander Dietkow, Consul General of Poland

[[St Kilda, Scotland|St. Kilda is the most remote of all the inhabitable Scottish islands, being over 160 km (100 miles) from the mainland.

Munros

Almost all the islands surrounding Scotland, no matter how small or remote, were formerly inhabited, as is shown by archaeological and documentary evidence.

The [[Firth of Clyde and the [[Firth of Forth also contain numerous islands.

Smaller formations of [[Lewisian gneiss in the north west are up to 3,000 million years old and amongst the oldest found anywhere on Earth.

and [[Berwick-upon-Tweed, which was defined as subject to the laws of England by the [[Wales and Berwick Act 1746|1746 Wales and Berwick Act.

[[Rockall was annexed by the United Kingdom in 1972 and administratively made part of the [[Isle of Harris in Scotland, although this is disputed by the [[Republic of Ireland, [[Iceland, and [[Denmark; both the UK (in 1997) and Ireland (in 1996) have since ratified the [[UNCLOS|United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which excludes Rockall from qualifying as land from which various territorial limits can be measured although it is claimed by both the UK and Ireland that it lies within their territorial limits.

Access to several islands in the Northern and Western groups was made easier in the course of the 20th century by the construction of bridges or causeways (e.g., the [[Churchill Barriers), installed for strategic reasons during the [[Second World War between several small islands on the east side of [[Scapa Flow in of East Coast which[[Orkney

The Central Belt is often divided into the West Coast, which contains the areas around

[edit] Blisco re Ben Nevis

I have a copy of Murray, W.H. (1977) The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland. London. Collins, which may provide some verification of a few facts and perhaps some additional evocative sentences. I don't want to start making unsolicited edits in the middle of a GA process as I have none of the history of the article. He makes the following statements:

From the car park in Glen Nevis "the open slope on your left runs four thousand feet to the summit of Ben Nevis at an angle of thirty-five degrees - the longest and steepest hill-slope in Britain."

"the Nevis gorge is the finest example of its kind in in Great Britain. It is only four hundred feet high, but the immense walls to its right and left are wooded in pine, oak birch and rowan. These sprout in profusion from the crags, giving the rock gorge a Himalayan character not seen elsewhere in this country."

The Steall waterfall "is 350 feet high and one of the three biggest in Scotland."

From the summit, "On exceptional days, Ireland can be dimly discerned a hundred and twenty miles away."

He insists that although it has "aroused much conjecture" the name Ben Nevis "derives from a Gaelic compound word Beinn-neamh-bhathais. 'Neamh' means the heavens or clouds; 'bathais', the top of a man's head (between crown and brow). A free translation is 'The mountain with its head in the clouds'."

"Atmospheric condensation tends to cover the summit with a cloud-cap when the rest of the sky is clear, hence it gets an average of only two hours of bright sunshine per day and an annual rainfall of 157 inches. The mean monthly temperature is half a degrees below freezing point. Snow may thus fall on the mountain at any day or month of the year."

"The summit area has an average of two hundred and sixty one gales per annum. Many of these reach hurricane force."

"The old Observatory near the cliff's edge was built in 1883 .... and closed down in 1904."

I suspect that an early un-referenced version of the article may have been based in part on this book.