   #copyright

Shetland

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

             Shetland Islands
                 Location
                 Geography
   Area           Ranked 12th
    -Total        1,466 km²
    -% Water       ?
   Admin HQ       Lerwick
   ISO 3166-2     GB-ZET
   ONS code       00RD
               Demographics
   Population     Ranked 31st
    -Total (2005) 22,000
    - Density     15 / km²
                 Politics
         Shetland Islands Council
   http://www.shetland.gov.uk/
   Control        Independent
   MPs
                    * Alistair Carmichael

   MSPs
                    * Tavish Scott

                 Scotland

   Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from Ȝetland) formerly called
   Hjaltland, is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is an archipelago
   to the north-east of Orkney and mainland Scotland, with a total area of
   approximately 1466 km². It forms part of the division between the
   Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The
   administrative centre and only burgh is Lerwick.

   The largest island, known as the Mainland, is the third largest
   Scottish island and also the third largest island surrounding Great
   Britain. It has an area of 374 square miles.

   Shetland is also a lieutenancy area, comprises the Shetland
   constituency of the Scottish Parliament, and was formerly a county.

Composition

   Out of the approximately 100 islands, only fifteen are inhabited. The
   main island of the group is known as Mainland.

   The other inhabited islands are: Bressay, Burra, Fetlar, Foula, Muckle
   Roe, Papa Stour, Trondra, Vaila, Unst, Whalsay, Yell in the main
   Shetland group, plus Fair Isle to the south, and Housay and Bruray in
   the Out Skerries to the east (see below).

   Other , uninhabited, islands include:
     * Balta, Bigga, Brother Isle
     * East Linga
     * Fish Holm
     * Gloup Holm, Grunay, Gruney
     * Haaf Gruney, Hascosay, Havra, Hildasay, Huney
     * Lady's Holm, Lamba, Linga near Muckle Roe, Linga near Shetland
       Mainland, Linga near Yell, Little Roe, Lunna Holm
     * Moul of Eswick, Mousa, Muckle Flugga, Muckle Ossa
     * North Havra, Noss
     * Orfasay, Out Stack, Oxna
     * Papa, Papa Little
     * Samphrey
     * Sound Gruney, South Havra, South Isle of Gletness
     * Urie Lingey, Uyea, Uynarey
     * Vaila
     * Vementry
     * West Linga

   Fair Isle lies approximately halfway between Shetland and Orkney, but
   it is administered as part of Shetland and is often counted as part of
   the island group. The Out Skerries lie east of the main group. Due to
   the islands' latitude, on clear winter nights the aurora borealis or
   'northern lights' can sometimes be seen in the sky, while in summer
   there is almost perpetual daylight, a state of affairs known locally as
   the 'simmer dim'. Indeed, when standing at the highest point in the
   Isles, Ronas Hill (height 450m latitude 60° 32' 04"), the sun does not
   set at mid summer. In midwinter, by contrast, the sun does not fully
   rise.
       County of Zetland
           Geography
       Area
   - Total      Ranked 15th
                352,876 acres
   County town  Lerwick
   Chapman code SHI
   Shetland flag
                Coat of Arms
   ( In Detail) ( Coat of Arms)
        Motto Með lögum skal land byggja
   ( Old Norse: With laws land shall be built)
   Shetland islands relative to Scotland
   Enlarge
   Shetland islands relative to Scotland

History

   The old Gaelic name for Shetland (Innse Cat, "Islands of the Cat
   People") suggests that the original inhabitants were the same tribal
   group who inhabited Caithness ("Cat People's Headland") and Sutherland
   (Cataibh, "Cat People's Land"). Missionaries arrived around the 7th
   century and began converting the population to Christianity. Sometime
   in the 9th century, Shetland was invaded by the Norse and became a
   Norwegian colony for approximately 500 years, but ownership of
   Shetland, along with Orkney, defaulted to the crown of Scotland on 20
   February 1472 following non-payment of the marriage dowry of Margaret
   of Denmark, queen of James III of Scotland. Subsequent attempts to make
   good on the debt and reclaim Shetland have been ignored, including the
   last bid in the early years of the twentieth century.

   During World War II, boats from the Shetland Islands provided a relief
   service to occupied Norway, known as the " Shetland bus".

Norse names

   The old Norse names of the principal islands were:
     * Hjaltland (Mainland)
     * Jell (Yell) - believed to be pre-Norse
     * Unst - believed to be pre-Norse
     * Fetlar - believed to be pre-Norse
     * Hvalsey (Whalsay)
     * Brusey (Bressay) - most likely named after a Norse nobleman Bruse
     * Fugley (Foula) - literally bird's island
     * Frjóey (Fair Isle) - Fertile island (Froøy/Fræøy in modern
       Norwegian)

Culture

   The culture of Shetland is similar to that of Scandinavia. However, it
   also combines elements of Scottish culture as well.

Notable places

     * Clickimin broch
     * Fort Charlotte
     * Jarlshof archaeological site
     * Mavis Grind
     * Mousa Broch
     * Muness Castle the most northerly castle in the United Kingdom
     * Old Scatness archaeological site
     * Scalloway Castle
     * Selivoe
     * St Ninian's Isle
     * Sullom Voe oil terminal
     * Sumburgh Head
     * Skaw the most northerly settlement in the United Kingdom

Economy

   Traditionally, the economic activities of Shetland were primarily
   agricultural, especially the raising of Shetland sheep, known for their
   unusually fine wool, along with the Shetland Sheepdog as well as the
   Shetland pony. Crops raised include oats and barley; however, the cold,
   windswept islands make for a harsh environment for most plants.
   Crofting, the farming of small plots of land on a legally restricted
   tenancy basis, is still practiced and viewed as a key Shetland
   tradition as well as important source of income.

   More recently, oil reserves discovered in the 20th century out to sea
   have provided a much needed alternative source of income for the
   islands. The East Shetland Basin is becoming one of Europe's largest
   oil fields. Oil produced there is landed at the Sullom Voe terminal in
   Shetland.
     * Crude oil and Natural gas production
     * Agriculture
     * Aquaculture
     * Fishing

Language

   The Pictish language was replaced by Old Norse, which evolved into
   Norn, which was replaced by an insular dialect of Scots also known as
   Shetlandic, which in turn is being replaced by Scottish English.
   However, the legacy of Norn remains in the grammar and a number of
   words, making the Shetland dialect a distinctive form of Scots.

   As Norn was gradually replaced by Scots, the original Scandinavian name
   of the islands, Hjaltland (hjalt in Old Norse meaning the hilt or
   pommel of a sword) became Ȝetland (the initial letter being the Middle
   Scots letter, yogh (which can also be found in the forename Menzies,
   e.g. Menzies Campbell.) This sounded almost identical to the original
   Norn sound, /hj/). When the letter yogh was discontinued, it was often
   replaced by the similar-looking letter ' z', hence Zetland, the mis
   pronounced form used to describe the pre- 1975 county council.
     * ShetlandDictionary.com has been created for to help encourage the
       use of Shetlandic.

Transport

   Transport between islands is mainly done by ferry.

   Shetland is served by a domestic ferry connection to the mainland,
   operated by Northlink Ferries to
     * Aberdeen

   Lerwick also has an international ferry connection operated by Smyril
   Line to
     * Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
     * Seyðisfjörður, Iceland
     * Bergen, Norway
     * Hanstholm, Denmark

Schools

   Anderson High School

Notable Shetlanders

     * Arthur Anderson (1792-1868), co-founder of P&O
     * Tom Anderson MBE (1910-1991), a fiddler, composer, folklorist and
       teacher who was a profoundly influential figure in the development
       of Shetland music
     * Ian Bairnson (b. 1953), session guitarist ( The Alan Parsons
       Project)
     * Aly Bain (b. 1946), fiddle player.
     * Morgan Goodlad (b. 1950), controversial Chief Executive of Shetland
       Islands Council (see, for example, Private Eye No 1144 p27, or this
       story from the Sunday Herald.)
     * Sir Herbert John Clifford Grierson (1866-1960), a literary scholar
       and critic
     * Norman Lamont (b. 1942), Conservative MP, Chancellor of the
       Exchequer from 1990 to 1993.
     * Steven Robertson, a theatre and film actor from Vidlin
     * Robert Stout (1844 - 1930), Prime Minister of New Zealand on two
       occasions in the late 19th century
     * Astrid Williamson, musician
     * Sandra Voe (b. 1936), actress appearing in many small film and TV
       roles (including Coronation Street) and mother of Pulp keyboard
       player Candida Doyle.
     * Neil Hughes from Seven Up!

Shetland Islands on film

   Michael Powell made The Edge of the World in 1937. This film is a
   dramatisation based on the true story of the evacuation of the last
   thirty-six inhabitants of the remote island of St Kilda on 29 August
   1930. St Kilda lies in the Atlantic Ocean, 64 kilometres west-northwest
   of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides; the inhabitants spoke Gaelic.
   Powell was unable to get permission to film on St. Kilda. Undaunted, he
   made the film over four months during the summer of 1936 on the island
   of Foula, in the Shetland Isles. Despite the fact that the Foula
   islanders speak the Norse-tinged dialect of Shetland, the film loses
   none of its power.
     * The Edge of the World ( 1937) dramatizes the evacuation of the
       Islands and the ensuing tragedy.
     * Return To The Edge Of The World ( 1978) was a documentary capturing
       a reunion of cast and crew of 1937's The Edge Of The World, 40
       years after the fact, as they revisit the island.
     * The Rugged Island: A Shetland Lyric (1934) at the Internet Movie
       Database
     * Devil's Gate ( 2003).
     * It's Nice Up North ( 2006) comedy documentary by Graham Fellows as
       John Shuttleworth.

Council political composition

     * Independent - 17
     * Liberal Democrats - 5

Shetland NHS

   The Shetland NHS is the local Scottish health service in the Shetland
   Islands.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shetland"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
