OVERVIEW:
Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is one of the four "home nations" that make up the United Kingdom. Sharing a 60 mile (96 km) long land border with England to the south, and separated from Northern Ireland by the North Channel of the Irish Sea, Scotland is surrounded by the bracing waters of the North Sea to the east, and the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and north. The capital is Edinburgh, the largest city is Glasgow. Apart from these and several other cities, the popular image of Scotland for most travellers, of course, centres on the "Highlands and Islands" - a wonderfully diverse land, Scotland has much to offer virtually any traveller.
Scotland comprises the northern third of the island of Great Britain, which lies off the northwest coast of Continental Europe. The total land mass is 78,772 km˛ (30,414 sq mi). Scotland's only land border is with England, and runs for 96 kilometres (60 mi) between the basin of 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 southwestern peninsula of Kintyre; Norway is 305 kilometres (190 mi) to the east and the Faroes, 270 kilometres (168 mi) to the north. The geographical centre of Scotland lies a few miles from the village of Newtonmore in Badenoch.
The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and England and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway. Important exceptions include the Isle of Man, which having been lost to England in the 14th century is now a crown dependency outside of the United Kingdom; the island groups Orkney and Shetland which were accquired from Norway in 1472; and Berwick-upon-Tweed, lost to England in 1482.
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