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Scotland
Environment
Scotland is about half the size of England, and roughly two-thirds of the country is mountain and moorland. Geographically, it can be divided into three areas: the Southern Uplands, the Central Lowlands, and the Northern Highlands and Islands. The Southern Uplands are the fertile plains and hills bordering England; the Central Lowlands run from Edinburgh to Glasgow and contain the industrial belt and most of the population, while the Highlands are mountain ranges of sandstone and granite, rising to their heights at Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain. Of Scotland's 790 islands, 130 are inhabited. Island groups include the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Orkneys and Shetland. Although much of the country was once covered by the Caledonian forest - a mix of Scots pine, oak, silver birch, willow, alder, rowan and heather - this mighty treescape is now reduced to a few pockets of indigenous vegetation. Almost three-quarters of the country is uncultivated bog, rock and heather, with almost 800,000 hectares (2 million acres) clothed in acidic peat. In the far north there are lichens and mosses found nowhere else in Britain. Although the thistle is commonly assicated with Scotland, the national flower is the Scottish bluebell. Scotland's first-ever national park, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, opened in 2002. There are also plans to create a second national park in the Cairngorms. Red deer are found in large numbers. Wild boars, once nearly extinct, have been reintroduced, while the extremely rare wildcats and wild goats are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. Foul-tempered highland cattle were bred to endure the cold climate, and sheep graze grasslands all over the country. Otters are rare, but introduced minks are spreading like wildfire. Scotland's famous game birds, the grouse, graze in large numbers on the country's heather, and millions of greylag geese winter on the stubble fields of the lowlands. Seals are frequently seen, and visitors come from all over for the famed Scottish salmon.
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