SCOTER 295 SCOTLAND SCOTER, or SURF DUCK (Oidemia), a genus of sea ducks. The most familiar species is the common or black scoter (O. nigra), which shows a deep black plum- age in the male, the bill and legs being of the same color. The upper mandible is marked on its dorsal surface by a line of orange color. The females are colored of a dark brown hue. It occurs in the Arctic regions in summer. An American species of coot is known as surf duck. SCOTIA, the Latin name of Scotland, often used by xier poets. The word is said to be derived from Queen Scota, the wife of a King of Ireland, who is thought to have invaded Scotland in 258 A. D. Previous to this event the land was known as Caledonia (q. v.). SCOTLAND, the northern division of the island of Great Britain; separated from England substantially by the Sol- way, Cheviots, and Tweed, the border isthmus being about 60 miles across; but the irregular boundary line measures fully 100 miles. On all other sides it is bound- ed by the sea. Area, 29,797 square miles. The greatest length, from N. N. E. to S. S. W., between Dunnet Head and the Mull of Galloway, is 287 miles. The breadth varies from 140 miles to less than 26, the latter in the N., between Dornoch Firth and Loch Broom. Few points in the mainland are more than 40 miles from the sea, the country being so much pene- trated by inlets. The country was for- merly divided into a number of districts, many of the names of which are still familiar, such as Lothian, Tweeddale, Galloway, Breadalbane, etc., but for po- litical purposes it is now divided into 33 shires or counties. The population in 1911 was 4,760,904; the estimated popu- lation in 1919 was 4,894,100. The most important cities, with their estimated population in 1918, are: Glas- gow, 1,111,428; Edinburgh, 333,883; Dun- dee, 181,777; and Aberdeen, 166,564. Islands and Coasts. — The islands of Scotland are said to number altogether nearly 800. On the E. coast they are few and small; but on the N. E. are the two large groups of the Orkneys and Shet- lands, the former numbering 90 islands, 28 permanently inhabited; the latter 100 islands, 29 inhabited; while on the W. coast the islands are large and numerous. Here the Hebrides extend for 200 miles from N. to S., and are divided into the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the former lying close to the W. coast of the main- land and stretching from Skye to Islay; the latter parted from the Inner Hebrides by the straits of the Minch and the Little Minch, comprise the long chain of islands from Lewis to Benbecula. Inclosed in the Firth of Clyde are the islands of Ar- ran, Bute, and the Cumbraes, forming a county by themselves. The W. coast of the mainland is generally a wild, deeply indented mountain wall, presenting a se- ries of inlets or sea lochs, while toward the middle the coast is cleft by two great inlets with openings to the S. W., the Firth of Lorn and its continuation Loch Linnhe, and the Firth of Clyde and its ramifications running far inland. The E. coast is sometimes low and sandy, but is often formed of steep rocky cliffs of con- siderable elevation, the chief inlets being the Firths of Forth and Tay,and the Mo- ray Firth, Cromarty Firth, etc. Surface. — Both from the configuration of the surface and the geological struc- ture the country divides into three divi- sions, the Highlands, Central Lowlands, and Southern Uplands. The first of these divisions lies N. of a line stretching in a S. W. direction from the coast of Kin- cardineshire to the Firth of Clyde; the third is the country S. of a line drawn from Dunbar S. W. to Girvan; the coun- try between these lines forms the Central Lowlands. The Highland division is re- markable for the number and elevation of its mountain masses, many of the summits being over 4,000 feet high. The mountains best known by name are the Grampians, which form a system or se- ries of masses covering a large area, and culminating on the W. coast in Ben Ne- vis, 4,406 feet high; while 55 miles to the N. E. rises a remarkable cluster of sum- mits reaching in Ben Macdhui the height of 4,296 feet. The Grampians and their connections are separated from the moun- tains farther to the N. by Glenmore or the Great Glen of Scotland, a remarkable depression stretching quite across the country from sea to sea, and forming, by the series of lakes occupying it and the Caledonian canal connecting them, a wa- terway from the W. coast to the E. The Southern Uplands are also essentially a mountainous region, summits of over 2,000 feet being frequent, though none exceed 3,000 feet above the sea. The cen- tral region, though much less elevated than the other two divisions, has none of the monotony usual in flat countries. Though occupying not more than a sixth of the whole surface, the fertility of the soil and its mineral treasures make this part by far the wealthiest and most pop- ulous. The present form of the land sur- faces of Scotland is the effect of erosion or denudation. The country was at one time an elevated table-land, the upper surface of which is indicated by the sum- mits of the mountain masses, but has been deeply trenched and furrowed in all directions by the erosive action of water, ice, and frost. The slope of the ancient plateau may be determined by the direc-
