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Orkney Isles

Orkney
Gaelic name Arcaibh
Norse name Orkneyjar
Orkney Islands Arms.jpg
Coat of arms
Location
Orkney Islands UK relief location map.jpg
Orkney is located in Scotland
Orkney
Orkney
Orkney shown within Scotland
Coordinates 59°N 3°W / 59°N 3°W / 59; -3Coordinates: 59°N 3°W / 59°N 3°W / 59; -3
Physical geography
Island group Northern Isles
Area 990 km2 (380 sq mi)
Administration
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country Scotland
Council area Orkney Islands Council
Demographics
Population 21,349 (2011 census)
Population density 52 per square mile (20/km2)
Largest settlement Kirkwall
Lymphad3.svg

Orkney /ˈɔːrkni/ (Scottish Gaelic: Arcaibh), 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 523 square kilometres (202 sq mi), 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 have been inhabited for at least 8500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts. Orkney was invaded and forcibly annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse. The Scottish Parliament then re-annexed the earldom to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James III's bride Margaret of Denmark. Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.


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