Scotland Essay, Research Paper

Scotland is not actually a country, but is an administrative division of Great Britain.

Scotland takes up the northern third of the island of Great Britain. To the north of

Scotland is the Atlantic Ocean. To the south of Scotland is England and the Solway Firth

. To the east of Scotland is the North Sea, and to the west of Scotland is the North

Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. To get to Scotland, you could go by airplane and land at

Prestwick Airport near Glasgow. You could also drive there or get a train from England.

To get around once you?re in Scotland, there are about thirty-thousand miles of highways

and about four thousand miles of railroads. There are public buses you can use

throughout the country.

Scotland?s currency is the same as England?s. They use the pound ( ) which is

made up of one hundred pence. One American dollar is equal to .63 pounds. To earn

money, the Scottish rely on both agriculture and industry. Their main exports are natural

gas, petroleum and manufactured goods such as burlap, clothing, machinery, textiles, and

whiskey. Many people work in factories throughout the country. Most of the factories

are found in major cities. The main imports to Scotland are iron and food. Due to

Scotland?s cool climate, they cannot grow a large variety of foods. Despite that fact,

agriculture is the use for more than three quarters of the land. From this land they get

wheat, potatoes, and oats. Beef and dairy cattle also use the land for grazing. Dairy farms

are also of some importance in the labor industry. Fishing is an important industry in cities

such as Aberdeen, Peterhead, Fraserburgh, and Lerwick. In those cities, there are many

Scots who make their living from fishing and canneries. Coal is also a product they get

money from, and many people rely on mining for income.

Edinburgh is the second largest city in Scotland. It is also Scotland?s capital city.

Although it isn?t the largest city, it is the hub of finance, culture, education and service

industry businesses. Exports from this capital city include steel, whiskey, and fertilizer.

Edinburgh is also a center of tourism in Great Britain. The dominating landmark of this

city is Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh Castle was built on steep cliffs above the city. Other

tourist attractions include Castle Rock, Saint Giles, the Parliament House, and the house

of Protestant reformer John Knox. All of these attractions can be found in the Old Town

district of Edinburgh. Another very popular place in Scotland is Loch Ness. The Loch

Ness was once connected to the ocean by a large fault line. Over the years, it has closed,

making the Loch Ness one of the many inland seas found in Scotland. It is believed that

there is such thing as the Loch Ness monster, and many people come to see her every

year. The Scots call this creature ?Nessie?.

Scotland is also famous for some of it?s outstanding universities. Amongst them

are St. Andrews and Glasgow. Scotland is also home of Britain?s first technological

university founded in 1963 as the University of Strathclyde. Because of the excellent

school system, ninety-nine per cent of Scotland?s population is literate.

When you are traveling through Scotland, you will have no problem

understanding their language, because they speak English nearly everywhere. A Scottish

form of Gaelic is also spoken, but by fewer than one hundred thousand people. Most of

whom live in the highlands. Gaelic is considered the second language.

The traditional keystone of Scottish society, although no longer powerful, are

clans. A clan was a group of an entire family headed by one person called the laird. Clans

have improved the national pride of the people in it by machine fame feel they were

somebody important. Bagpipes are a popular instrument in Scotland, and although it was

introduced by the Romans, the Scottish people are often associated with this instrument.

Popular Scottish sports include curling and golf. Golf was invented in Scotland in

1100AD. Soccer and rugby are also popular sports in Scotland, although they didn?t

originate there.