Scotland

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Scotland
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Scotland- important information

• MottoNemo me impune lacessit "No one provokes
  me with impunity
• Capital- Edinburgh5557'N, 312'W
• Largest city- Glasgow
• Official languages- English
• Recognised regional languages- Gaelic, Scots,
• Demonym- Scot, Scots and Scottish
• Currency - Pound sterling (GBP)
• Time zone - GMT (UTC0)

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Government

• Government- Constitutional monarchy
• Monarch- Queen Elizabeth II
• UK Prime Minister - Gordon Brown MP
• First Minister- Alex Salmond MSP

Parliament House,Edinburgh
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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 km2 .Scotland's only land border is with
  England, and runs for 96 kilometres 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 from
  the south western peninsula of Kintyre, Norway is
  400 kilometres to the north east, the Faroes 310
  kilometres and Iceland 798 km to the north
  west. The geographical centre of Scotland lies a
  few miles from the village of Newtonmore in
  Badenoch, far to the north of the modern
  population heartlands.

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Climate

• The climate of Scotland is temperate and oceanic,
  and tends to be very changeable. It is warmed by
  the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic, and as such
  has much milder winters (but cooler, wetter
  summers) than areas on similar latitudes, for
  example Oslo or Moscow. However, temperatures are
  generally lower than in the rest of the UK, with
  the coldest ever UK temperature of -27.2 C
  recorded at Braemar in the Grampian Mountains, on
  11 February 1895 and 10 January 1982 and also at
  Altnaharra, Highland, on 30 December 1995.Winter
  maximums average 6 C (42.8 F) in the lowlands,
  with summer maximums averaging 18 C (64.4 F).
  The highest temperature recorded was 32.9 C
  (91.22 F) at Greycrook, Scottish Borders on 9
  August 2003.

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Fauna of Scotland

• Scotland's wildlife is typical of the north west
  of Europe although several of the larger mammals
  such as the Brown Bear, Wolf, Eurasian Lynx,
  Beaver, Reindeer, Elk and Walrus were hunted to
  extinction in historic times. A population of
  Wild Cats remains. There are important
  populations of seals and internationally
  significant nesting grounds for a variety of
  seabirds such as Northern Gannets.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. 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.The
  Fortingall Yew may be 5,000 years old and is
  probably the oldest living thing in Europe.

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Religion in Scotland

• Since her distinctive Protestant reformation, the
  Church of Scotland, also sometimes popularly
  known as The Kirk, has been Scotland's national
  church. Unlike the Church of England, the Kirk
  has a Presbyterian system of church government,
  and enjoys independence from the state. Scotland
  also has a significant Roman Catholic population,
  particularly in the west. After the Reformation,
  Roman Catholicism continued on in the Highlands
  and some western islands like Uist and Barra, and
  was strengthened, during the 19th century by
  immigration from Ireland. Other Christian
  denominations in Scotland include the Free Church
  of Scotland, and the Scottish Episcopal Church.
  Islam is the largest non-Christian religion
  (estimated at 50,000, this is less than 1 of the
  population), and there are also significant
  Jewish, Hindu and Sikh communities, especially in
  Glasgow. 28 of the population follow 'no
  religion' whatsoever.The Samyé Ling monastery
  near Eskdalemuir, which celebrated its 40th
  anniversary in 2007, includes the largest
  Buddhist temple in western Europe.

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Culture

• A piper playing the Great Highland Bagpipe.

• Over the course of many centuries, an
  amalgamation of various traditions has moulded
  the culture of Scotland. There is a robust arts
  scene, with both music and literature heavily
  influenced by Scottish sources and a variety of
  national media outlets. Several Scottish sporting
  traditions are unique to the British Isles, and
  co-exist with more popular games such as Football
  and Rugby.

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Worth visiting
The ruins of St.Andrews Cathedral in Fife
The Glasgow City Chambers in George Sguare
A replica of the Pictish Hilton of Cadboll Stone
Scottish Parliament Building