Scotland, a tiny country with a population of about 5,094,800 people, has a land area approximately equal to the size of South Carolina. The country makes up the northern third of the island of Great Britain and lies next to England, Scotland's only land border. Otherwise Scotland lies between the River Tweed in the east and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders on the west and the North Sea lies to the east.

            The country has three main sub-divisions: the Southern Uplands, the Central Lowlands, and the Highlands. The Southern Uplands consist of rolling hills and the Central Lowlands has broad river valleys that provide Scotland with its richest farmland. Nearly three quarters of the population live in the Lowlands and this is where Glasgow and the capital city of Edinburgh are located. The Highlands, spread over the northern two-thirds of the country, are famous for their mountain scenery and this is where Scotland's highest peak of 4,406 feet, Ben Nevis, is found. Ben is another Scottish word, meaning "mountain peak," and Ben Nevis altogether means "mountain covered by fog." Two major mountain ranges in the Highlands are the Grampian Mountains and the Northwest Highlands.

           Scotland is dotted with many long and narrow, crystal-clear lochs, the Scottish name for lake. Loch Lomond is the largest freshwater lake in all of Great Britain. Besides the lakes, there are plenty of other waters including hundreds of waterfalls and a drizzle in the Lowlands that often lasts for so many days that it puts people in a grumpy mood. The Scots call these periods of long, dreary, rain-filled days the dreich.

           January is the coldest month in Edinburgh but even though this city (and Glasgow) lies as far north as Moscow, the weather is never so harsh thanks to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream. Scotland's bigger cities are almost never hit by snow blizzards, but in the Highlands many mountain slopes are covered in snow from October until May. Hikers need to be prepared for sudden, violent changes in the weather, including icy winds that can roar at 100 miles an hour.

           Scotland has internationally important nesting grounds for a variety of seabirds such as northern gannets. The golden eagle is a kind of national icon and white-tailed eagles and ospreys have both been recently re-introduced into the country.