"Orkney derives from Norwegian ancestors who invaded the islands in the 9th century. The Mainland is the largest island of Orkney. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, are on this island, which is also the heart of Orkney's transportation system, with ferry and air connections to the other islands and to the outside world. The island is more densely populated (75% of Orkney's population) than the other islands and has much fertile farmland. The Mainland is split into areas called East and West Mainland. These areas are determined by whether they lie East or West of Kirkwall. The bulk"
"largest leisure centre, is located in Kirkwall. It contains two pools, an indoor sports arena, squash courts, climbing wall, athletics track, synthetic and grass pitches and various exercise/gym studios. Kirkwall Grammar School Sports Centre has indoor sports facilities, and grass and synthetic pitches, available to the public. Kirkwall Kirkwall (Scottish Gaelic: ""Bàgh na h-Eaglaise"") is the largest settlement and capital of Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name ""Kirkjuvagr"" (""Church Bay""), which later changed to ""Kirkvoe"", ""Kirkwaa"" and ""Kirkwall"". The town is first mentioned in ""Orkneyinga saga"" in the year"
"Hoy Hoy (from Norse ""Háey"" meaning ""high island"") is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring — ranked largest in the archipelago after Mainland. A natural causeway, ""the Ayre"", links to much smaller South Walls; the two islands are treated as one entity by the UK census. The dramatic coastline of Hoy greets visitors travelling to Orkney by ferry from the Scottish mainland. It has extremes of many kinds: some of the highest sea cliffs in the UK at St John's Head, which reach ;; a light-stone precarious sea stack taller than the facing cliff – the Old Man of Hoy;"
"claim. The islands are situated at latitudes about 60°30' to 60°48' S and longitudes 44°25' to 46°43' W in the Southern Ocean. As a group of islands, the South Orkney Islands are at approximately . The archipelago comprises four main islands. Coronation Island is the largest, measuring about long; its highest point is Mount Nivea which rises to above sea level. Laurie Island is the easternmost of the islands. The other main islands are Powell and Signy. Smaller islands in the group include Robertson Islands, the Saddle Islands, and Acuña Island. The total area of the archipelago is about ,"
"Kirkwall Kirkwall (Scottish Gaelic: ""Bàgh na h-Eaglaise"") is the largest settlement and capital of Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name ""Kirkjuvagr"" (""Church Bay""), which later changed to ""Kirkvoe"", ""Kirkwaa"" and ""Kirkwall"". The town is first mentioned in ""Orkneyinga saga"" in the year 1046 when it is recorded as the residence of Rögnvald Brusason the Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his uncle Thorfinn the Mighty. In 1486, King James III of Scotland elevated Kirkwall to the status of a royal burgh. On the west edge of the town,"
"Coronation Island Coronation Island is the largest of the South Orkney Islands, long and from wide. The island extends in a general east-west direction, is mainly ice-covered and comprises numerous bays, glaciers and peaks, the highest rising to . The island was discovered in December 1821, in the course of the joint cruise by Captain Nathaniel Palmer, an American sealer, and Captain George Powell, a British sealer. Powell named the island in honour of the coronation of George IV, who had become king of the United Kingdom in 1820. An area of some 92 km of north-central Coronation Island has"
"Navigation Company (later P&O Scottish Ferries) were named ""St Ola"". Prof John Tait was born here in 1878. St Ola St Ola is a parish in Mainland, Orkney. It is in the centre of the island, east of the parish Firth and north of Holm. It contains the capital and largest town of the Orkney archipelago, Kirkwall. Both Kirkwall (, church-bay) and St Ola may take their name from the church of St. Olaf, built about 1035 on the north bank of the Willow burn, which stands just below the local primary school. Highland Park, the most northerly Scotch whisky"
"the waist"". The centre of the island is largely moorland covered with heather, and cultivation is confined to the coasts. The highest points are Flaughton Hill at the island's centre, Fersness Hill at West Side, Vinquoy Hill to the north and Ward Hill to the south, which reaches . In Orkney this last name, which derives from the Norse ""varði"", is a common one for the highest point on an island as in the past they were used for lighting warning beacons. The largest body of water is the sea, south east of Vinquoy Hill. Loch of Doomy lies on"
"of Balfour Mains (the largest farm on the island), ceased to breed livestock (instead keeping animals bred elsewhere) and grew less grain (some barley is still grown on the farm). Instead, some of the land is now managed under a Habitat Creation Scheme, which aims to encourage natural vegetation, wild flowers and nesting birds by limiting grazing and reducing the use of chemical fertilisers. Tourism started to become important in the latter half of the century; the first restaurant to incorporate bed and breakfast facilities opened in 1980. With an area of , Shapinsay is the 8th largest Orkney island"
"Orcas Island Orcas Island () is the largest of the San Juan Islands, which are located in the northwestern corner of Washington state in San Juan County, Washington, United States. The name ""Orcas"" is a shortened form of ""Horcasitas,"" or Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo, the Viceroy of Mexico who sent an exploration expedition under Francisco de Eliza to the Pacific Northwest in 1791. During the voyage, Eliza explored part of the San Juan Islands. He did not apply the name Orcas specifically to Orcas Island, but rather to part of the archipelago."
"have been charted and named by various exploration and survey groups. The island's northwest point is called Penguin Point. Several named rock formations are located offshore just west of Penguin Point, including the Melsom Rocks, the Despair Rocks, and Lay-brother Rock. The island's irregular coast is indented by a great number of bays. Coronation Island Coronation Island is the largest of the South Orkney Islands, long and from wide. The island extends in a general east-west direction, is mainly ice-covered and comprises numerous bays, glaciers and peaks, the highest rising to . The island was discovered in December 1821, in"
"the main group, are part of Orkney and technically amongst the Northern Isles. However, the other small islands that lie off the north coast of Scotland are in Highland and thus not usually considered to be part of the Northern Isles. Orkney is situated north of the coast of mainland Scotland, from which it is separated by the waters of the Pentland Firth. The largest island, known as the ""Mainland"" has an area of , making it the sixth largest Scottish island. The total population in 2001 was 19,245 and the largest town is Kirkwall. Shetland is around north of"
"of 10 although by 2011 there were no ""usual residents"" living there as recorded by the census. Papa Stronsay Papa Stronsay () is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying north east of Stronsay. It is in size, and at its highest point. According to folklore, some of the natives were descended from a female selkie. This was because they had horny skin on their feet and hands, and permanently smelt of fish. The geology is middle old red sandstone. A thin tongue of land curls west from the main part of the island, and then south to form the"
"Pomona Island Pomona Island is the largest island within Lake Manapouri, in Fiordland National Park, in New Zealand's South Island. With an area of , it is the largest island to be found within any New Zealand lake. The island is uninhabited, and lies close to the entrance to the lake's southern arm, 11 kilometres to the west of Manapouri township. To its north, the island is separated from the mainland by the wide Hurricane Passage. Pomona Island was named by surveyor James McKerrow in 1862 after the main island of Scotland's Orkney Islands. Forested areas of Fiordland National Park"
"whole grew by 4% to 103,702. Orkney Ferries sail from Papa Westray to Pierowall and Rapness on Westray, and Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. Britten-Norman Islander aircraft operated by Loganair fly from Papa Westray Airport to Westray and Kirkwall; the hop from Papa Westray to Westray is the world's shortest scheduled flight, at approximately 2 minutes. At the northern tip of the island lies North Hill. At , it is the island's highest point and an RSPB nature reserve. Many seabirds breed on the island, including Arctic terns and Arctic skuas. It was one of the last places where the"
"Stronsay Stronsay is an island in Orkney, Scotland. It is known as Orkney's 'Island of Bays', owing to an irregular shape with miles of coastline, with three large bays separated by two isthmuses: St Catherine's Bay to the west, the Bay of Holland to the south and Mill Bay to the east. Stronsay is in area, and in altitude at its highest point. It has a usually resident population of 349. The main village is Whitehall, home to a heritage centre. Sights on the island include the Vat of Kirbister, a natural arch described as the ""finest in Orkney"", white"
"Rousay Rousay ( meaning Rolf's Island) is a small, hilly island about north of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney Islands of Scotland, and has been nicknamed ""the Egypt of the north"", due to its archaeological diversity and importance. It is separated from mainland Orkney by the Eynhallow Sound, and, like its neighbours Egilsay and Wyre, can be reached by ro-ro ferry from Tingwall, on the mainland of Orkney, which takes 20–25 minutes. This service is operated by Orkney Ferries, and can take up to 95 passengers (reduced to 50 in winter), and 10 cars. The ferry links the"
"Arctic species ""Primula stricta"" and ""Primula scandinavica"". Mainland, Orkney The Mainland is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's population live on the island, which is more densely populated than the other islands of the archipelago. The lengthy history of the island's occupation has provided numerous important archaeological sites and the sandstone bedrock provides a platform for fertile farmland. There is an abundance of wildlife, especially seabirds. The name Mainland is a corruption of"
"St Ola St Ola is a parish in Mainland, Orkney. It is in the centre of the island, east of the parish Firth and north of Holm. It contains the capital and largest town of the Orkney archipelago, Kirkwall. Both Kirkwall (, church-bay) and St Ola may take their name from the church of St. Olaf, built about 1035 on the north bank of the Willow burn, which stands just below the local primary school. Highland Park, the most northerly Scotch whisky distillery, is on the outskirts of Kirkwall. Several ships of the North of Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Steam"
"inscribed in 1999. The other islands in the group are classified as north or south of the Mainland. Exceptions are the remote islets of Sule Skerry and Sule Stack, which lie west of the archipelago, but form part of Orkney for local government purposes. In island names, the suffix ""a"" or ""ay"" represents the Norse ""ey"", meaning ""island"". Those described as ""holms"" are very small. The northern group of islands is the most extensive and consists of a large number of moderately sized islands, linked to the Mainland by ferries and by air services. Farming, fishing and tourism are the"
"and the 29th largest Scottish island. The highest point of Ward Hill is above sea level. The east coast is composed of low cliffs and has several sea caves, including the picturesque geo at the extreme northern tip known as Geo of Ork. Elwick Bay is a sheltered anchorage on the south coast, facing the Orkney mainland; the island's largest settlement, Balfour, is at the western end of the bay. The island has several ayres, or storm beaches, which form narrow spits of shingle or sand cutting across the landward and seaward ends of shallow bays. They can sometimes cut"
"Islands (together called North West Chicken), (West Chicken), Lady Alice Island or (Big Chicken), (Middle Chicken), and Coppermine Island (Eastern Chicken). is the largest island by some considerable margin, totalling . Long and thin, it has a length of and an average width of less than . A remnant of a four-million-year-old volcano, the island is dominated by a rocky ridge reaching to about at its highest point, called The Pinnacles. Sail Rock, a stack, rises from the ocean to the south of Hen Island, and is a prominent navigational point for yachts. By the late 1800s, Hen Island was"
"South Ronaldsay South Ronaldsay is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. It is linked to the Orkney Mainland by the Churchill Barriers, running via Burray, Glimps Holm and Lamb Holm. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the Orkney islands after The Mainland, Hoy and Sanday. Ferries sail from Burwick on the island to John o' Groats on the Scottish mainland and from St Margaret's Hope to Gills Bay. South Ronaldsay's main village is St Margaret's Hope, Orkney's third largest settlement. It is named either after Margaret, Maid of Norway, the"
"Mainland, Orkney The Mainland is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's population live on the island, which is more densely populated than the other islands of the archipelago. The lengthy history of the island's occupation has provided numerous important archaeological sites and the sandstone bedrock provides a platform for fertile farmland. There is an abundance of wildlife, especially seabirds. The name Mainland is a corruption of the Old Norse ""Meginland"". Formerly the island"
"Laurie Island Laurie Island is the second largest of the South Orkney Islands. The island is claimed by both Argentina as part of Argentine Antarctica, and the United Kingdom as part of the British Antarctic Territory. However, under the Antarctic Treaty System all sovereignty claims are frozen, as the island lies south of the parallel 60°. Buchanan Point at the north-eastern end of the island, with Cape Whitson on its south coast, are Important Bird Areas. Laurie Island was discovered by Captains George Powell and Nathaniel Palmer in the course of their 1821 expedition to the South Atlantic. Richard Holmes"
"The northern and western parts of Hoy, along with much of the adjoining sea area, is designated as a Special Protection Area due to its importance for nine breeding bird species: arctic skua, fulmar, great black-backed gull, great skua, guillemot, Black-legged kittiwake, peregrine falcon, puffin and red-throated diver. The area is important for its seabird assemblage, which regularly supports 120,000 individual seabirds during the breeding season. Hoy is featured prominently in the 1984 video for ""Here Comes The Rain Again"" by Eurythmics. Hoy Hoy (from Norse ""Háey"" meaning ""high island"") is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring — ranked largest"
"by BirdLife International because it supports substantial breeding colonies of chinstrap penguins totalling about 35,000 pairs, of which some 15,000 pairs nest on Matthews Island. Matthews Island Matthews Island is the largest of the Robertson Islands in the South Orkney Islands off Antarctica. It lies immediately south-east of Coronation Island, from which it is separated by a narrow channel known as the Divide. Matthews Island was mapped as part of Coronation Island until January 1957 when a Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) party established its insularity. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1959 for Drummond H."
"North Ronaldsay North Ronaldsay is the northernmost island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. With an area of , it is the fourteenth-largest. It is mentioned in the ""Orkneyinga saga""; in modern times it is known for its historic lighthouse, migratory bird life and unusual breed of sheep. North Ronaldsay lies around north of its nearest neighbour, Sanday, at . It is around long and is defined by two large sandy bays; Linklet Bay on the eastern shoreline and South Bay at the south. The west of the island is very rocky, with many skerries. North Ronaldsay is low-lying and"
"mainland Scotland, covers an area of and has a coastline long. Lerwick, the capital and largest settlement, has a population of around 7,500 and about half of the archipelago's total population of 22,000 people live within of the town. Orkney has 20 inhabited islands and Shetland a total of 16. The superficial rock of Orkney is almost entirely Old Red Sandstone, mostly of Middle Devonian age. As in the neighbouring mainland county of Caithness, this sandstone rests upon the metamorphic rocks of the Moine series, as may be seen on the Orkney Mainland, where a narrow strip of the older"
"selkie folk have been collected from the Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland). In Orkney lore, ""selkie"" is said to denote various seals of greater size than the grey seal; only these large seals are credited with the ability to shapeshift into humans, and are called ""selkie folk"". The type of large seals that might have been seen on the islands include the Greenland seal(also known as the Harp Seal) and the crested seal(also known as the hooded seal). Something similar is stated in Shetland tradition, that the mermen and mermaids prefer to assume the shape of larger seals, referred to"
"Matthews Island Matthews Island is the largest of the Robertson Islands in the South Orkney Islands off Antarctica. It lies immediately south-east of Coronation Island, from which it is separated by a narrow channel known as the Divide. Matthews Island was mapped as part of Coronation Island until January 1957 when a Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) party established its insularity. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1959 for Drummond H. Matthews, a FIDS geologist at Signy Island in 1956. The island is part of the Robertson Islands North Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such"
"sand beaches in the three bays, and various seabirds amongst which are Arctic terns. As with most of Orkney, Stronsay is made up of Old Red Sandstone which has produced a fine soil in many places. It is generally low-lying. On the eastern coast, spectacular rock formations include the Vat of Kirbister – Stronsay's famous natural rock arch, often described as the finest in Orkney. The coast around Odiness Bay features numerous dramatic geos, caves, flagstone rock platforms and sea stacks, including Tam’s Castle, reputed to have once housed a hermitage on its flat summit. Stronsay is the seventh largest"
"(2010 census), Orcas Island is slightly larger, but less populous, than neighboring San Juan Island. Orcas is shaped like a pair of saddlebags, separated by fjord-like Eastsound, with Massacre Bay on the south side, and tiny Skull Island just off the coast. At the northern end of the island is the village of Eastsound, the largest population center on Orcas and the second largest in San Juan County. In 1989, the people of San Juan County asked the federal government to purchase a Lummi Nation site on Orcas Island's Madrona Point in Eastsound. The land was given to the Lummi"