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SHETLAND, or ZETLAND
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See also:SHETLAND, or ZETLAND , a See also:group of islands constituting a See also:county of See also:Scotland, and the most northerly See also:British See also:possession in See also:Europe. It consists of an See also:archipelago of islands and islets, over roo in number, situated to the See also:north-See also:east of See also:Orkney, between 59 5o' and 6o° 52' N. and o° 55' and 2° 14' W., and bounded on the W. by the See also:Atlantic and on the E. by the North See also:Sea. The distance from See also:Dennis See also:Head in North Ronaldshay of the Orkneys to Sumburgh Head in Shetland is 5o m., but See also:Fair Isle, which belongs to Shetland, lies midway between the See also:groups. The islands occupy an See also:area of 352,889 acres or 551.4 sq. m. Besides Mainland, the See also:principal member of the group, the more important are Yell, Unst and Fetlar in the north, Whalsay and Bressay in the east, Trondra, East and See also:West Burra, Papa See also:Stour, Muckle See also:Roe and Foula in the west, and Fair Isle in the See also:south. The islands See also:present an irregular See also:surface, frequently rising into hills of considerable See also:elevation (an extreme of 1475 ft. is found in the north-west of Mainland). Most of the inland scenery is See also:bleak and dreary, consisting of treeless and barren tracts of See also:peat and boulders. The See also:coast scenery, especially on the west, is always picturesque and often See also:grand, the cliffs, sheer precipices of brilliant colouring, reaching a height of over s000 ft. at some places. The shores are so extensively indented with voes, or firths—the result partly of denudation and partly caused by glaciers—that no spot in Shetland is more than 3 M. from the sea. There are sheets of fresh See also:water in the larger islands, the most important being Strom See also:Loch (2 M. See also:long), Girlsta (12 m. long) and Spiggie (12 m.) in Mainland, and Loch of Cliff (2 m.) in Unst, and numerous See also:short streams. The principal capes are Sumburgh Head, the most southerly point of Mainland, a bold promontory 300 ft. high; Fitful Head, on the south-west of the same See also:island, a magnificent headland, 2 M. in length and nearly moo ft. high, where Norna, the prophetess of See also:Sir See also:Walter See also:Scott's Pirate, was supposed to have her See also:abode and which the Norsemen called the See also: Old Red See also:Sandstone, red grits, sandstones and marls and See also:conglomerate occur in a narrow See also:belt on the east See also:side of Mainland from Sumburgh Head to Rova Head, north of See also:Lerwick; they also See also:form the island of Bressay. In the western portion of Mainland, in Northmavine, there is a considerable See also:tract of rocks of this See also:age which are formed largely of intrusive See also:diabase-porphyrite; similar volcanic rocks occur in Papa Stour. These are penetrated by intrusions of granitic and felsitic See also:character; one of these masses in Papa Stour is a handsome See also:pink See also:felsite. Practically all the remaining area in these islands is occupied by metamorphic See also:schists and gneisses which occur in See also:great variety and with which are associated numerous dikes and masses of intrusive igneous See also:rock. The See also:southern part of Mainland, from Laxfirth Voe to Fitful Head a See also:series of dark schists and slates, is found with sub-See also:ordinate limestones. The metamorphic rocks of the See also:rest of Mainland are principally coarse gneisses, micaceous and chloritic schists, quartzites, &c.; in these rocks at Tingwall and Wiesdale consider-able beds of See also:limestone occur, which may be followed across the island in a northerly direction to Yell See also:Sound, and to Dales Voe in Delting, 854 See also:Gabbro occurs in the See also:peninsula of Fethland; See also:diorite in Northmavine between Rinas Voe and Mavis Grind; and See also:epidote-See also:syenite in Dunrossness. Yell is formed of coarse See also:gneiss and granitic rocks. In Unst the high ground on the west coast consists of gneiss, which is followed eastward by schists of various kinds, then by a belt of See also:serpentine, 2 M. to a See also:quarter of a mile in breadth, which crosses the island from S.W. to N.E.; this is succeeded by a belt of gabbro, and finally the eastern border is again occupied by micaceous and chloritic schists. Similar rocks occur in Fetlar. Whalsay is built of coarse gneisses and schists. During the height of the glacial See also:period the See also:ice must have crossed the islands from E. to W., for many of the rocks belonging to the eastern side are found as boulders scattered over the western districts. Important formations of See also:chromite are found at Hagdale and the Heog Hills; steatite occurs at Kleber Geo, and many interesting minerals have been recorded from these islands. See also:Climate and See also:Fauna.—The See also:average See also:annual rainfall amounts to 46 in., and the mean temperature for the See also:year is 45° 3 F., for See also: See also:Hares, for a long period See also:extinct, were reintroduced about 183o, rabbits are very numerous, and the northern limit of the hedge-hog is See also:drawn at Lerwick. Whales of various See also:species are frequently captured in the bays and sounds; the See also:grampus, See also:dolphin and See also:porpoise haunt the coasts, and See also:seals occasionally bask on the more outlying islets. Besides the commoner kinds of fishes, sharks, the torsk, See also:opah and See also:sunfish occur. There is an immense variety of water-See also:fowl, including the phalarope, See also:fulmar See also:petrel, kittiwake, See also:Manx See also:shearwater, black See also:guillemot, whimbrel, See also:puffin and white-tailed See also:eagle. See also:Industries.—There has been no agricultural advance corresponding to that which has taken See also:place in Orkney, mainly owing to the poverty and insufficiency of the See also:soil. Although there are some See also:good arable farms in favoured districts, the vast See also:majority of holdings are small crofts occupied mostly by peasants who combine fishing with farming. Crofting See also:agriculture is conducted on See also:primitive methods, See also:spade tillage being almost universal, and seaweed the principal manure. The cottages are generally grouped in small hamlets called " touns. The size of the crofts varies greatly. There are several hundreds under 5 acres, but the average holding runs from 5 to 20 acres. At one See also:time the See also:land was held on the " runrig " See also:system—that is, different tenants held alternate ridges—but now as a See also:rule each holding is See also:separate. About one-See also:sixth of the See also:total area is under cultivation, oats and See also:barley being the See also:chief See also:grain, and potatoes (introduced in 1730) and turnips (1807) the chief See also:green crops. See also:Cabbage, said to have been introduced by a detachment of Cromwellian soldiers, is also raised, and among fruits black and red currants ripen in sheltered situations. In spite of somewhat adverse See also:climatic conditions, live stock is reared with a fair amount of success. The distinctive manufacture is knitted goods. The finest work is said to come from Unst, though each See also:parish has its own speciality. The making of gloves was introduced about 1800, of shawls about 1840 and of veils about 1850. So delicate is the workmanship that stockings have been knitted that could pass through a See also:finger-See also:ring. See also:Women do most of the See also:farm work and spend their spare time in See also:knitting. Fishing is the occupation of the men, and the real See also:main-stay of the inhabitants. Formerly the See also:fishery was in the hands of the Dutch, whose supremacy was destroyed, however, by the See also:imposition of the See also:salt tax in 1712. So See also:complete was their See also:control that they are estimated to have derived from it more than 200 millions See also:sterling while it lasted. Then the fishery was neglected by the natives, who were content to use the " sixerns," or six-oared fishing boats, till the last quarter of the 19th See also:century, when boats of See also:modern type were introduced. Since 1890 the See also:herring fishery has advanced rapidly, and the Shetland fishery See also:district is the most important north of See also:Aberdeen-See also:shire. The haaf or deep-sea catch principally consists of See also:cod, See also:ling, torsk and saithe. Communication with the islands is maintained by steamers from See also:Leith and Aberdeen to Lerwick, the See also:capital (twice a See also:week), and to Scalloway, the former capital, and other points (once a week). See also:Population.—In 1891 the population amounted to 28,711 and in 1901 it was 28,166 or 51 persons to the sq. in. The See also:females numbered 15,753, or 127 to every 1 oo See also:males, considerably thelargest proportion to any county in Scotland. in 1901 there were 55 persons speaking Gaelic and See also:English, none who spoke Gaelic only, and 92 foreigners (almost all Scandinavians). Only twenty-seven islands of the group are inhabited, but in the See also:case of some of them the population consists solely of a few lighthouse attendants, shepherds and keepers. The Inhabited Isles.—The following is a See also:list of the inhabited isles, proceeding from south to north; but it will be understood that they do not See also:lie in a See also:direct See also:line, that several are practically on the same See also:latitude, that the bulk are situated off the east and west coast of Mainland, and that two of them are distinctly outlying members of the group. The figures within brackets indicated the population in 1901. Fair Isle (147) lies 24 M. S.W. of Sumburgh Head, and is 3 M. long by about 2 in. broad. The name is derived from the Norse faar, a sheep (a derivation better seen in the Faroe Isles). It is a hilly island, with rocky cliffs; North Haven, on the east coast, being almost the only place where landing can be safely effected. From the survivors of a See also:vessel of the See also:Spanish See also:Armada that went ashore in 1588 the natives are said to have acquired the See also:art of knitting the coloured See also:hosiery for which they are noted. The shipwrecked sailors taught the See also:people how to prepare dyes from the See also:plants and See also:lichens, and many of the patterns still show signs of Moorish origin. Mainland (19,676), the largest and principal island, See also:measures 54 M. from N. to S., and 21 in. from E. to W., though the shores are indented to an extraordinary degree and the bulk of the island is much narrower than the extreme width would indicate. The parish of Walls, in the west, is said to contain more voes, whence its name (an erroneous rendering of the Norse waas), than all the rest of Shetland; while the See also:neck of land at Mavis Grind (Norse, macs', narrow; eid, See also:isthmus; grind, See also:gate), forming the boundary between the parishes of Northmavine and Delting, is only 6o yds. wide and about 20 ft. above the sea, almost converting the north-western area of Mainland into an island. In the promontory of Eshaness may be seen some wonderful examples of sea See also:sculpture. The Grind of the Navir (" Gate of the Giants ") is a See also:staircase carved by the waves out of the See also:porphyry cliffs. In the rock of See also:Dore Holm is a natural archway, 70 ft. wide, through which the See also:tide constantly surges, and to the south-east of it are the Drougs, stacks of See also:quaint shapes, suggesting a See also:ship in full See also:sail, a ruin, a cowled See also: Off the south-eastern coast of Mainland, separated by a sound 1 m. broad and usually visited from Sandwick, lies the uninhabited island of Mousa (correctly spelled Moosa, the moory isle, from the Norse m6-r, See also:moor), famous for the most perfect specimen of a Pictish broth, or See also:tower of See also:defence, in the British Isles. The broch, which stands on a rocky promontory at the south-west of the isle, now measures about 45 ft. in height, but as some of the See also:top courses of See also:masonry have fallen down it is supposed to have been 50 ft. high originally. It was entire in 1154, and was partially restored in 1861. It has a See also:diameter at the See also:foot of 50 ft., and at the top of 38 ft. The interior court, open to the See also:sky, is 30 ft. in diameter, the enclosing See also:wall having a thickness, at the See also:base, of 15i ft. There are three separate beehive-shaped rooms on the ground See also:floor, which were entered from the court, from which also there was an entrance to the See also:stair leading to the galleries, which were lighted by windows facing the court. Hevera
(25) lies off the west coast of Mainland, south of the two Burras. East Burra (203), about 4 M. long by 1 m. broad, is separated from Mainland by Clift Sound, a narrow See also:arm of the sea, 8 m. long. West Burra (612), 6 m. long by i m. broad, with a very irregular coast-line, lies alongside of East Burra and contains a See also: S.W. of Scalloway, and Papa (See also:priest's isle, 16), to the E. of Oxna. Bressay (679) lies 1 m. E. of Lerwick, from which it is separated by the Sound of Bressay, in which See also:Haakon V., See also: Foula, pronounced Foola (Norse, fugl-oy, " See also:bird island ") (230), lies 27 M. W. of Scalloway, and 16 m. W. of the nearest point of Mainland. It measures 3i M. long by 2i M. broad. The cliffs on the west coast attain in the Sneug (Norse, Snjoog, " hill top ") a height of ,1272 ft. They are the See also:home of myriads of sea-birds and one of the nesting-places of the bonxie, or great See also:skua (Lestris cataractes), which used to be fostered by the islanders to keep down the eagles, and the eggs of which are still strictly preserved. The natives are daring cragsmen. The only landing-place is the See also:village of See also:Ham, on the east coast. Vaila (21), in the mouth of the Bay of Walls, affords good pasturage. Linga (4) lies immediately to the north of Vaila. Papa Stour (272), properly spelt Stoor, "the big [Norse stor] island of the priests," lies in the south-west of the great bay of St See also:Magnus. It measures 2 M. in length by about 3 M. in breadth and has a coast-line of 20 M. See also:Christie's Hole and Francie's Hole, two of the caves for which it is noted, are reputed to be among the finest in the See also:United See also:Kingdom. The See also:sword See also:dance described in the Pirate may still be seen occasionally. Four See also:miles N.W. are the islets known as the Ve Skerries, where seals are sometimes found. Whalsay, " See also:whale island " (975), measuring 5 M. from N.E. to S.W. by 22 M. wide, is an important fishing station. Muckle Roe, " great red island " (202), roughly circular in shape and about 3 M. in diameter, lies in the E. of St Magnus Bay. Gruay, "green isle " (1o), Housay (68), Bruray (44), See also:Bound (2) are members of the group of Out Skerries, about 4 M. N.E. of Whalsay. There is a lighthouse on Bound, and the rest are fishing stations. Yell (2483), separated from the north-east coast of Mainland by Yell Sound, is the second largest island of the group, having a length of 17 m., and an extreme width of 61 m., though towards the middle the voes of See also:Mid Yell and Whale See also:Firth almost See also:divide it into two. It contains several brochs and ruined chapels and is an important fishing station. Fetlar (347) lies off the east coast of Yell, from which it is divided by Colgrave Sound and the isle of Hascosay and is 5 M. long by 61 m. broad. It ranks with the most picturesque and most fertile members of the group and contains a breed of ponies, a See also:cross between the native See also:pony and the See also:horse. Uyea, " the isle," from the Old Norse oy (3), to the south of Unst, from which it is divided by the narrow sounds of Uyea and Skuda, yields a beautiful green serpentine. Unst (194o), to the N.E. of Yell and separated from it. by See also:Blue-
855
See also:mull Sound, is 12 m. long and 6 m. wide. It has been called the "See also:garden of Shetland," and offers inducements to sportsmen in its trout and See also:game. The male inhabitants are mostly employed in the See also:fisheries and the women are the most See also:expert knitters of hosiery in the islands. Unst contains several places of historic See also:interest. Near the south-eastern promontory stands Muness Castle, now in ruins, built in 1598—according to an inscription on a tablet above the See also:door—by Laurence See also:Bruce, natural See also:brother to See also:Lord See also:Robert Stewart, 1st earl of Orkney. Buness, near See also:Balta Sound, was the See also:house of Dr Laurence Edmonston (1795-1879), the naturalist. Near Balliasta are the remains of three See also: N. of Unst, is the most northerly point of Shetland, and the site of a lighthouse.
See also:Administration.—Shetland unites with Orkney to return a member to See also:parliament. The island is divided into Mainland district (comprising the parishes of Northmavine, Delting, Nesting, Sandsting, Walls, Tingwall, Bressay, Lerwick and Dunrossness) and North Isles district (the parishes of Unst, Fetlar and Yell). It forms a sheriffdom with Orkney and See also:Caithness, and there is a See also:resident See also:sheriff-substitute at Lerwick, the county town. There are parish poorhouses in Dunrossness and Unst, besides the Shetland See also:combination poorhouse at Lerwick. The county is under school See also:board See also:jurisdiction and Lerwick has a secondary school, and a few of the other See also:schools See also:earn grants for higher See also:education. The " See also:residue " See also: The people, more remote and less accessible to See also:external influences, retained their Scandinavian characteristics longer than the Orcadians. The Norse See also:language and customs survived in Foula till the end of the 18th century, and words and phrases of Norse origin still colour their speech. See also:George See also:Low (1747-1795), the naturalist and historian of Orkney, who made a tour through Shetland in 1774, described a Runic See also:monument which he saw in the See also:churchyard of -Crosskirk, in Northmavine parish (Mainland), and several fragments of Norse swords, See also:shield'bosses and brooches have been dug up from time to time. See George Low, Tour through the Islands of Orkney and Shetland in 1774 (published in 1879); A. Edmondston, Zetland Islands (18o9); See also:Samuel Hibbert-See also:Ware, Description of the Shetland Isles (1822); C. Rampini, Shetland and the Islanders (1884); C. See also:Sinclair, Shetland and the Shetlanders (184o); R. S. Cowie, Shetland (1896); Dr Jakob Jakobsen, The See also:Dialect and Place Names of Shetland (1897). Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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