Essay, Research Paper: Scotland

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.