Shetland Islands

Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about 50 miles (80 kilometres) to the northeast of Orkney, 110 mi (170 km) from mainland Scotland, and 140 mi (220 km) west of Norway. They form part of the border between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The islands' area is 1,467 km2 (566 sq mi) and the population totalled 23,190 in 2024. The islands comprise the Shetland Islands constituency of the Scottish Parliament. The islands' administrative centre, largest settlement and only burgh is Lerwick, which has been the capital of Shetland since 1708, before which time the capital was Scalloway. Due to its location, it is accessible only by ferry or flight with an airport located in Sumburgh as well as a port and emergency airstrip in Lerwick. The archipelago has an oceanic climate, complex geology, rugged coastline, and many low, rolling hills. The largest island, known as "the Mainland", has an area of 373 sq mi (967 km2), and is the fifth-largest island in the British Isles. It is one of 16 inhabited islands in Shetland. Humans have lived in Shetland since the Mesolithic period. In the late Iron Age and early medieval period, Shetland contains evidence of a pre-Norse population often discussed in relation to Pictish-period material culture; however, the nature, continuity, and ultimate fate of this population remain disputed. Recent scholarship by Allen Fraser identifies an archaeological discontinuity of approximately 250 years between the last securely dated occupied Pictish-period structures and the earliest permanent Norse settlements in Shetland, suggesting population collapse or abandonment prior to Norse arrival. Norse settlement began in the late 8th and 9th centuries, after which Shetland became integrated into the Norwegian realm and remained under Norwegian sovereignty…