"Rusk Holm and Sweyn Holm. The southern group of islands surrounds Scapa Flow. Hoy is the second largest of the Orkney Isles and Ward Hill at its northern end is the highest elevation in the archipelago. The Old Man of Hoy is a well-known seastack. Burray lies to the east of Scapa Flow and is linked by causeway to South Ronaldsay, which hosts the cultural events, the Festival of the Horse and the Boys' Ploughing Match on the third Saturday in August. It is also the location of the Neolithic Tomb of the Eagles. Graemsay and Flotta are both linked"
"Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of Great Britain. Orkney is 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the coast of Caithness and comprises approximately 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, Mainland, is often referred to as ""the Mainland"". It has an area of , making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall. A form of the name dates to the pre-Roman era and the islands"
"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;"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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 ,"
"Orkney, and St. Magnus Cathedral is to be found there. It is also one of the island's ferry ports. A long-established seaport that grew with the expansion of whaling, Stromness has a population of approximately 2,200 residents. The old town is clustered along the main street, flanked with houses and shops built from local stone, with narrow lanes and alleys branching off it. There is a ferry link to Scrabster in Caithness on the Scottish mainland as well as the Isle of Hoy. Finstown is the third largest settlement, and used to be known as the ""Toon o' Firth"". The"
"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"
"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"
"Sanday, Orkney Sanday is one of the inhabited islands of Orkney that lies off the north coast of mainland Scotland. With an area of , it is the third largest of the Orkney Islands. The main centres of population are Lady Village and Kettletoft. Sanday can be reached by Orkney Ferries or by plane from Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. The Picts were the pre-Norse inhabitants of Sanday but very few placenames remain from this period. The Norse named the island ""Sandey"" or ""Sand-øy"" because of the predominance of sandy beaches and this became ""Sanday"" during the Scots and English"
"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"
"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"
"marine coast around the east of the island is designated a Special Protection Area due to presence of sand dune and machair habitats, rare outside the Hebrides, as well as extensive intertidal flats and saltmarsh. Sanday, Orkney Sanday is one of the inhabited islands of Orkney that lies off the north coast of mainland Scotland. With an area of , it is the third largest of the Orkney Islands. The main centres of population are Lady Village and Kettletoft. Sanday can be reached by Orkney Ferries or by plane from Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. The Picts were the pre-Norse"
"landlocked parish in Orkney, although it too has a significant coast along the Loch of Harray, albeit a freshwater one. The three main settlements on Mainland, in order of magnitude are Kirkwall and Stromness, both of which are burghs, and Finstown. Kirkwall, the biggest town of the islands, is on the isthmus between west Mainland and east Mainland, which historically enabled it to have highly active harbours facing in two directions for the southern and northern Orkney Islands; the southern one, Scapa Flow, is a large, calm and immediately ocean-accessible natural harbour. Kirkwall has the seat of the Bishop of"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"period Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702. Orkney is separated from the mainland of Scotland by the Pentland Firth, a wide seaway between Brough Ness on the island of South Ronaldsay and Duncansby Head in Caithness. Orkney lies between 58°41′ and 59°24′ North, and 2°22′ and 3°26′ West, measuring from northeast to southwest and from east to west, and covers . Orkney is separated from the Shetland Islands, a group further out, by a body of water called the Fair Isle Channel. The islands are mainly low-lying except for some sharply rising sandstone hills on"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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,"
"(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"
"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"
"is the eighth largest island in the Orkney archipelago. It is low-lying and fertile, consequently most of the area is given over to farming. Shapinsay has two nature reserves and is notable for its bird life. At the 2011 census, Shapinsay had a population of 307. The economy of the island is primarily based on agriculture with the exception of a few small businesses that are largely tourism-related. Plans for the construction of a wind turbine are under consideration. Unlike most of the larger Orkney islands, the derivation of the name 'Shapinsay' is not obvious. The final 'ay' is from"
"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"
"Moaness on Hoy. Graemsay is sometimes referred to locally, as 'Orkney's green isle' due to its lush green vegetation cover. Birds include oystercatchers, ringed plovers, redshank and curlew. Parts of the island are largely undeveloped and are a haven for wild plants. As with many other Orkney Islands, there is a connection to the Celtic Church, possibly a pre-Norse one. There are the remains of two early churches, dedicated to St Bride and to St Columba., who are both saints of Irish origin. The island has two lighthouses, Hoy High (NE) and Hoy Low (NW), both built in 1851 by"
"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."
"Adams Island, New Zealand Adams Island is the second largest island of New Zealand's Auckland Islands archipelago. The southern end of Auckland Island broadens to a width of where a narrow channel, known as Carnley Harbour or the Adams Straits, separates it from the roughly triangular Adams Island (area approximately ), which is even more mountainous, reaching a height of at Mount Dick. The channel is the remnant of the crater of an extinct volcano, with Adams Island, and the southern part of Auckland Island forming the crater rim. Two large indentations, Bolton's Bay and Fly Harbour, are the most"
"archipelago. Ferry services operate between Orkney and the Scottish Mainland and Shetland on the following routes: Two services also connect Caithness, with South Ronaldsay, which is in turn connected to Mainland by road. Inter-island ferry services connect all the inhabited islands to Orkney Mainland, and are operated by Orkney Ferries, a company owned by Orkney Islands Council. Mainland has a great deal of marine life surrounding it, especially seabirds. Corncrakes can also be found in some parts. The Loch of Harray can host up to 10,000 wintering duck and is important for pochard. There are few wild land mammals although"