Orkney Islands, Scotland |
-The Orkney Islands have a latitude of about 58 degrees North and a longitude of about 2 degrees West
-Scotland has a Humid Oceanic climate -In Scottish Gaelic its called Arcaiabh some also refer to it as the Orkneys -The name "Orkney" dates back to as far as 1 B.C. -The Orkneys are made of at least 70 islands, but only 20 are inhabited -It is the sixth largest Scottish island and the tenth largest British island -The main settlement and administrative center is Kirkwall -The islands have been inhabited for 8,500 years -They were originally occupied by Mesolithic and Paleolithic tribes, then the Picts tribes, then were attacked and forcibly taken over by Norwegians -The Vikings made their pirate expedition headquarters at the Orkney Islands -In response, the Norwegian king, Harald Harfagre (translation "Harald Fair Hair") added Orkney islands and Shetland to his territory in 875 |