Caithness

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**County of Caithness**
Image:CaithnessTraditional.png
Geography
Area - Total - % Water	Ranked 12th 438,833 acres (1776 km²) ? %
County town	Wick
Chapman code	CAI

Caithness (Gallaibh in Gaelic)Template:Mn is a committee area of Highland Council, Scotland; a lieutenancy area; and a registration county,

Caithness was formerly a district within the Highland region from 1975 to 1996 and a local government county with its own county council from 1891 to 1975. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (1708 to 1918). The boundaries of Caithness are not identical in all contexts.

The county was subdivided into ten parishes: the parishes of Bower, Canisbay, Dunnet, Halkirk, Latheron, Olrig, Reay, Thurso, Watten and Wick. Scottish parishes had parish councils from 1894 to 1930.

Caithness has a land boundary with Sutherland. Otherwise it is bounded by sea. The land boundary follows a watershed and is crossed by two roads (the A9 and the A836) and one railway. Across the Pentland Firth ferries link Caithness with Orkney, and Caithness has also an airport at Wick.

Wick is a Royal Burgh and is the former county town. The only other burgh in Caithness is Thurso.

In 2001 Caithness had a resident population of 23,866 and settlement centres include those of Berriedale, Burnside, Castletown, Dunnet, Halkirk, Haster, John O'Groats, Latheron, Mey, Reay, Sibster, Thurso, Watten and Wick Template:Mn.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Natural heritage
4 District
5 Area committee
6 Constituency
- 6.1 See also
7 See also
8 Footnotes
9 External links

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Geography

Caithness extends about 40 miles (64 kilometres) north-south and about 30 miles (50 km) east-west. The general aspect of Caithness, which measures in area about 712 square miles (1844 km²), is flat; and this peculiarity is rendered still more striking by the almost total absence of forest.

Most of Caithness is old red sandstone to an estimated depth of over 4,000 metres. This consists of the cemented sediments of Lake Orcadie, which is believed to have stretched from Shetland to Grampian during the Devonian period, about 370 million years ago. Fossilised fish and plant remains are found between the layers of sediment. Older metamorphic (granite) rock is apparent in the Scaraben and Ord area, in the relatively high southwest area of the county. Caithness' highest point (Morven Template:Mn) is in this area.

Because of the ease with which the sandstone splits to form large flat slabs (flagstone) it is an especially useful building material, and has been used as such since Neolithic times.

Caithness is a land of open, rolling farmland, moorland and scattered settlements. The area is fringed to the north and east by dramatic coastal scenery and is home to large, internationally important colonies of seabirds. The surrounding waters of the Pentland Firth and the North Sea hold a great diversity of marine life. Away from the coast, the landscape is dominated by open moorland and blanket bog, divided up along the straths (river valleys) by more fertile farm and croft land.

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History

The Caithness landscape is rich with the remains of pre-historic occupation. These include the Grey Cairns of Camster, the Stone Lud, the Hill O Many Stanes and a complex of relics around Loch Yarrows. And numerous coastal castles (now mostly ruins) are Norse in their foundations. When the Norsemen arrived, probably in the 10th century, the county was probably Pictish, but with its culture subject to some Gaelic influence from the Celtic Church. The name Pentland Firth can be read as meaning Pictland Fjord.

Numerous bands of Norse settlers landed in the county, and gradually established themselves around the coast. On the Latheron (south) side, they extended their settlements as far as Berriedale. Most of the names of places, and not a few of the surnames in the lowland parts of the county, are Norse in origin. A dialect of the Norn language was spoken, although almost nothing is known about it.

For a long time sovereignty over Caithness was disputed between Scotland and the Norwegian Earldom of Orkney. Circa 1196 Earl Harald Maddadarsson agreed to pay a monetary tribute for Caithness to William I. Norway has recognised Caithness as fully Scottish since the Treaty of Perth in 1266.

Scottish Gaelic was spoken in the west of the county into the 20th century, although it is believed to be extinct now. It is sometimes erroneously claimed to have never been spoken in Caithness. The language boundary changed over time, but the New Statistical Record in 1841 says,

"On the eastern side of [the Burn of East Clyth] scarcely a word of Gaelic was either spoken or understood, and on the west side, English suffered the same fate".

By English "Lowland Scots", as well as English, would be meant. Caithness Lowland Scots has Norn influences.

Other quotes,

"Persons with a knowledge of Gaelic in the County of Caithness (in 1911) are found to number 1,685, and to constitute 6.7 per cent of the entire population of three years of age and upwards. Of these 1,248 were born in Caithness, 273 in Sutherland, 77 in Ross & Cromarty, and 87 elsewhere. .... By an examination of the age distribution of the Gaelic speakers, it is found that only 22 of them are less than 20 years of age." (J. Patten MacDougall, Registrar General, 1912)

"A presbytery minute of 1727 says of 1,600 people who had 'come of age', 1500 could speak Gaelic only, and a mere five could read. Gaelic at this time was the principal language in most parishes except Bower, Canisbay, Dunnet and Olrig" (Omand, D. From the Vikings to the Forty-Five, in The Caithness book)

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Natural heritage

The underlying geology, harsh climate and long history of human occupation have shaped this rich and distinctive natural heritage. Today we see a diverse landscape incorporating both common and rare habitats and species, and Caithness provides a stronghold for many once common breeding species that have undergone serious declines elsewhere, such as waders, water voles and flocks of over-wintering birds.

Many rare mammals, birds and fish have been sighted or caught in and around Caithness waters. Harbour porpoises, dolphins (including Risso's, bottle-nosed, common, Atlantic white-sided and white-beaked dolphins) and minke and long-finned pilot whales are regularly seen from the shore and boats. Both grey and common seals come close to the shore to feed, rest and raise their pups, and otters can be seen close to river mouths in some of the quieter locations.

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District

Caithness was a district of the Highland local government region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. When created the district included the whole of the county plus a Strathnaver area of the neighbouring county of Sutherland. The boundary was soon changed, however, to correspond with that between the counties. Caithness was one of eight districts in the Highland region.

The region was also created in 1975, as one of nine two-tier local government regions of Scotland. Each region consisted of a number of districts and both regions and districts had their own elected councils. The creation of the Highland region and of Caithness as a district involved the abolition of the two burgh councils in Caithness, Wick and Thurso, as well as the Caithness county council. The royal burgh of Wick, which had served as the county's administrative centre, became the administrative centre for the district.

In 1996 local government in Scotland was again reformed, to create 32 unitary council areas. The Highland region became the Highland unitary council area, and the functions of the district councils were absorbed by the Highland council.

Since 1996 the Highland council has maintained area committees named for the former districts, but the boundaries of the committee areas may not always follow those of the districts.

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Area committee

Main article: List of Highland Council wards and councillors

The Caithness committee area elects 10 members to the 80-member Highland Council. The majority of councillors do not belong to any party, and sit as independents.

The area does not include the village of Reay, which is within the Sutherland area. Most of the parish of Reay, however, is within the Caithness area.

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Constituency

The Caithness constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain (1708 to 1801) and the Parliament of the United Kingdom (1801 to 1918) represented essentially the county from 1708 to 1918. At the same time however the county town of Wick was represented as a component of the Northern Burghs constituency.

Between 1708 and 1832 the Caithness constituency was one of the Buteshire and Caithness alternating constituencies: one constituency elected a Member of Parliament (MP) to one parliament and then the other elected an MP to the next. Between 1832 and 1918 it was a separate constituency, electing an MP to every parliament.

In 1918 the Caithness constituency and Wick were merged into the then new constituency of Caithness and Sutherland. In 1997 Caithness and Sutherland was merged into Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.

The Scottish Parliament constituency of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross was created in 1999 and now has boundaries slighly different from those of the House of Commons constituency.

The modern constituencies may be seen as more sub-divisions of the Highland area than as representative of counties (and burghs). For its own purposes, however, the Highland Council uses more conservative sub-divisions, with names which refer back to the era of district councils and, in many cases, county councils.

In the Scottish Parliament Caithness is represented also as part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region.

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Footnotes

Template:Mnb The Cait element of Caithness is Pictish or Goidelic in origin but the origin of Caithness is Norse or Norn, and may be read as meaning Horn (or Nose) of Cait. The Gaelic name, Gallaibh, means land of the Norse (or of the foreigner). The Cait element of Caithness is represented as Cat in Cataibh, the Gaelic name for Sutherland, and as Cait in Na h-Innse Cait, the Old Irish for Shetland.