Shetland

Shetland (/ˈʃɛtlənd/; Scottish Gaelic: Sealtainn [ˈʃal̪ˠt̪ʰɪɲ]) (Norn: Hjaltland), also called the Shetland Islands, is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies northeast of the island of Great Britain and forms part of the United Kingdom.

The islands lie some 80 km (50 mi) to the northeast of Orkney and 280 km (170 mi) southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total area is 1,466 km² (566 sq mi) and the population totalled 23,210 in 2012. Comprising the Shetland constituency of the Scottish Parliament, Shetland is also one of the 32 council areas of Scotland; the islands' administrative centre and only burgh is Lerwick. Also the capital of Shetland since 1708 taking over from Scalloway.

The largest island, known simply as "Mainland", has an area of 967 km² (373 sq mi), making it the third-largest Scottish island and the fifth-largest of the British Isles. There are an additional 15 inhabited islands. The archipelago has an oceanic climate, a complex geology, a rugged coastline and many low, rolling hills.

Lerwick

Coordinates: 60°09′18″N 1°08′42″W / 60.155°N 1.145°W / 60.155; -1.145

Lerwick is the main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles (160 km) off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland. Lerwick is about 210 miles (340 km) north-northeast of Aberdeen, 230 miles (370 km) west of Bergen in Norway and 230 miles (370 km) south east of Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands.

Lerwick, Shetland's only burgh, had a population of about 7,500 residents in 2010 and is the most northerly and most easterly town in Scotland (there are other large settlements more northerly in Shetland, most notably the village of Brae).

One of the UK's coastal weather stations is located at Lerwick.

History

Lerwick is a name with roots in Old Norse and its local descendant, Norn, which was spoken in Shetland until the mid-19th century. The name "Lerwick" means bay of clay. The corresponding Norwegian name is Leirvik, leir meaning clay and vik meaning "bay" or "inlet". Towns with similar names exist in southwestern Norway (Leirvik) and on the Faroe Islands (Leirvík).

Island

An island /ˈaɪlənd/ or isle /ˈaɪl/ is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be called an eyot or ait, or a holm. A grouping of geographically or geologically related islands is called an archipelago, e.g. the Philippines.

An island may be described as such despite the presence of an artificial land bridge, for example Singapore and its causeway, or the various Dutch delta islands, such as IJsselmonde. Some places may even retain "island" in their names for historical reasons after being connected to a larger landmass by a wide land bridge, such as Coney Island or Coronado Island. Conversely, when a piece of land is separated from the mainland by a man-made canal, for example the Peloponnese by the Corinth Canal, it is generally not considered an island.

There are two main types of islands: continental islands and oceanic islands. There are also artificial islands.

Faroe Islands

Coordinates: 62°00′N 06°47′W / 62.000°N 6.783°W / 62.000; -6.783

The Faroe Islands (/ˈfɛəroʊ/; Faroese: Føroyar pronounced [ˈfœɹjaɹ]; Danish: Færøerne, pronounced [ˈfæɐ̯øːˀɐnə]) are an archipelago between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland, 320 kilometres (200 mi) north-northwest of Great Britain. The area is approximately 1,400 km² (540 sq mi) with a 2015 population of 48,700. The islands are an autonomous country within the Danish kingdom.

Between 1035 and 1814, the Faroe Islands were part of the Kingdom of Norway. The 1814 Treaty of Kiel granted Denmark control over the islands, along with two other Norwegian regions: Greenland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands have been a self-governing country within the Danish Realm since 1948. The Faroese have control of most domestic matters; areas that remain the responsibility of Denmark include military defence, police, justice, currency and foreign affairs. The Faroe Islands have representation in the Nordic Council as members of the Danish delegation.

100 Miles

100 miles is a 2007 United Arab Emirates comedy short thriller crime film written and directed by Mustafa Abbas and stars Abbas, Mahmood Arjumand, Kurt Neyberg, and Salma Othman. Considered Abbass' seventh film, The film won 'Best Non-Documentary' at the 2007 Emirates Film Competition and was screened at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2008 as part of the 'Emirati Voices' category.

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