*** Welcome to piglix ***

Ross and Cromarty


Ross and Cromarty (Scottish Gaelic: Ros agus Cromba) is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latter of which is 8,019 square kilometres (3,096 square miles) in extent. Historically there has been a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (1832 to 1983), a local government county, also known as Ross-shire (1890 to 1975), a district of the Highland local government region (1975 to 1996) and a management area of the Highland Council (1996 to 2007). The local government county is now divided between two local government areas: the Highland area and Na h-Eileanan Siar (the Western Isles).

The region has some of the most spectacular landscapes and some of the oldest rock formations in Europe. The rocks are of Cambrian and Precambrian age. The population is engaged mainly in fishing and tourism. The population as of 2001 was 49,967.Crofting is widespread.

The district is famous for its mountainous scenery, especially in the west, in an area known as Wester Ross. It includes the Torridon Hills composed of Precambrian Torridonian sandstone over Lewisian gneiss, and capped by Cambrian quartzite. The latter rocks often give the appearance of a snow topping when they cap a specific peak. The Torridons comprise individual mountains such as Beinn Eighe and Liathach, with related peaks Slioch and An Teallach to the north. Although many peaks in the North-west highlands exhibit Torridon geology, the Torridon hills are generally considered only to be those in the Torridon Forest to the north of Glen Torridon. Specifically, these are:


...
Wikipedia

...