geosites: Shetland

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about 50 miles (80 kilometres) to the northeast of Orkney, 110 mi (170 km) from mainland Scotland, and 140 mi (220 km) west of Norway. They form part of the border between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The islands' area is 1,467 km2 (566 sq mi) and the population totalled 22,710 in 2025. The islands comprise the Shetland Islands constituency of the Scottish Parliament. The islands' administrative centre, largest settlement and only burgh is Lerwick, which has been…

Evidence: 64 • authority: 72

Scalloway (Shaetlan pronunciation: [ˈskaɫəwə] SKA-lə-wə; Old Norse: Skálavágr, name of the bay) is the largest settlement on the west coast of the Mainland, the largest island of Shetland, Scotland. The village had a population of roughly 900, at the 2011 census. Now a fishing port, until 1708 it was the capital of the Shetland Islands (now Lerwick, on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland). It contains one of the two castles built in Shetland; this one was constructed in 1600. Nearby are the Scalloway Islands, which derive their name from the village.

Evidence: 45 • authority: 72

Evidence: 44 • authority: 72

Lerwick (Scottish Gaelic: Liùrabhaig, Scots: Lerook) is a port town and burgh in Shetland, Scotland. It is the main town of the Shetland archipelago, and has a population of 6,709 in 2022. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred 123 miles (200 km) off the north coast of the Scottish mainland and on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland, Lerwick lies 211 miles (340 km) north-by-northeast of Aberdeen; 222 miles (357 km) west of the similarly sheltered port of Bergen in Norway; and 228 miles (367 km) south east of Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands. One of the UK's coastal weather stations is situated there, with the local climate having small seasonal variation…

Evidence: 20 • authority: 88

Evidence: 20 • authority: 88

Evidence: 20 • authority: 72

Orkney and Shetland (Scottish Gaelic: Arcaibh agus Sealtainn) is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election and has been represented by Alistair Carmichael of the Scottish Liberal Democrats since 2001. In the Scottish Parliament, Orkney and Shetland are separate constituencies. The constituency was historically known as Orkney and Zetland (an alternative name for Shetland). In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, 65.4% of the constituency's electors voted for Scotland to stay part of the United Kingdom.

Evidence: 20 • authority: 72

Evidence: 20 • authority: 72