The Southern Uplands is the least populated of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas. They lie south of the Southern Uplands Fault line that runs from Ballantrae on the Ayrshire coast northeastwards to Dunbar in East Lothian on the North Sea coast, a distance of some . The term is used both to describe the geographical region and to collectively denote the various ranges of hills within this region.
The Southern Uplands Fault in Scotland is a fault that runs from Girvan (or more specifically from the Rhins of Galloway) to Dunbar on the East coast. It marks the southern boundary of the Scottish Midland Valley.
Grampian Mountains
The Grampian Mountains or Grampians are one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, occupying a considerable portion of the Scottish Highlands in northeast Scotland. They occupy almost half the land-area of Scotland.
The Grampians extend southwest to northeast between the Highland Boundary Fault (south) and the Great Glen (north). This includes the Cairngorms and the Lochaber hills. The range includes Ben Nevis (the highest point in the British Isles at 1,344 metres above sea level) and Ben Macdui (the second highest at 1,309 metres).
The mountains are composed of granite, and metamorphic rocks such as gneiss, marble, schists and quartzite. The other major mountain ranges in Scotland are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands.
Northwest Highlands
The Northwest Highlands are the northern third of Scotland, which is separated from the Grampian Mountains by the Great Glen. The Caledonian Canal, which extends from Loch Linnhe in the west, via Loch Ness to the Moray Firth in the north splits this area from the rest of the country.
The Highlands are formed on Lewisian gneiss, the oldest layers of rock in Scotland. There are impressive rock islands of dark red or gray Torridonian sandstone which stick up out of the gneiss. Some of the peaks, such as Beinn Eighe and Canisp, are topped with light gray or white Cambrian quartzite.
The city of Inverness, known as the "Capital of the Highlands", is by far the largest settlement in the region. It is the administrative centre for the Highland Council area.
This area's climate varies with altitude. It has wet, warm summers, average under 17C (62.6F). The winters are mild at low altitude but become snowier and colder with higher elevation.
Mountains may have up to 6 months of snow. Naturally the area would be a vast birch, pine and montane shrub forest, such as those surviving in Glen Affric. Snow may lie from more than a month to 105 days, but not at coastal or very low altitudes.
The region has steep, glacier-carved mountains, valleys and interspersed plains. Many islands (which also vary widely) lie off the coast.
Elevations of around 800 metres or over are common, as are mountains exceeding 1000 metres.
The Northwest Highlands are typically not quite as cold as the Cairngorms. Considering its terrain and its latitude of about 57 to 58 degrees North, the area is surprisingly warm: this is due to the mild influence of the Gulf Stream. The aurora borealis is sometimes visible on winter nights, weather permitting, especially at the climax of the 11 year cycle.
Bordering the region to the north east is the lowland area of Caithness.
The region has a very low population density. Significant settlements are Kyle of Lochalsh, Mallaig, Dingwall, Dornoch, and Ullapool.
Geologically, the Northwest Highlands includes the Hebrides, especially Lewis and Harris.
The main outcrops of the Lewisian complex are on the islands of the Outer Hebrides, including Lewis, from which the complex takes its name. It is also exposed on several islands of the Inner Hebrides, small islands north of the Scottish mainland and forms a coastal strip on the mainland.
The Lewisian complex or Lewisian Gneiss is a suite of Precambrian metamorphic rocks that outcrop in the northwestern part of Scotland, forming part of the Hebridean Terrane. These rocks are of Archaean and Paleoproterozoic age, ranging from 3.0–1.7 billion years ago.
They form the basement on which later sediments were deposited. The Lewisian consists mainly of granitic gneisses. Rocks of the Lewisian complex were caught up in the Caledonian orogeny, appearing in the hanging walls of many of the thrust faults formed during the late stages of this tectonic event.
Its presence at the seabed and beneath Palaeozoic and Mesozoic strata west of Shetland has been confirmed by shallow boreholes and hydrocarbon exploration wells.
Basement rocks of similar type are found at the base of the Moine Supergroup, sometimes with well-preserved unconformable contacts. These form part of the Lewisian, so the Lewisian complex extends at least as far southeast as the Great Glen Fault.
The Highlands are formed from the remains of the old Caledonian mountain range in northern Europe, the Caledonian orogeny. This included what is now Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden), Scotland, Wales, Normandy and Brittany in France.
Exposé (group)
Exposé is an American pop-rock group. The group was formed in 1984. Members of the group included Ann Curless, Jeanette Jurado and Gioia Bruno. They had success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Exposé are the first music group to have four top 10 hit songs on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The group have had over 25 million records worldwide.
Caper
The caper ("Capparis spinosa"), is a perennial winter-deciduous species that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and big white to pinkish-white flowers. A caper is also the pickled bud of this plant. Caper bush is present in almost all the countries and is included in the floristic composition of most of them but whether it is indigenous to this region is uncertain. Although the flora of the Mediterranean region has considerable endemism, the caper bush could have originated in the tropics, and later been naturalized to the Mediterranean basin.
Titan stick insect
The Titan stick insect is one of the largest stick insects in Australia. The scientific name is Acrophylla titan. It has a brown body with spikes on its neck. The Titan stick insect can reach up to in length. It takes the form of a stick as a disguise to predators.
The Titan stick insect can be found in two states of Australia; Queensland and New South Wales.
The Titan Stick insect reproduces through sexual reproduction and lay eggs that hatch.
Physique
Physique is the makeup (build, constitution, figure, form, shape) of a person's body. Constitution or body type refer to a number of classification systems used to empirically or theoretically classify the body shape of human individuals.
Saitama, Saitama
The city was founded on May 1, 2001, and was designated on April 1, 2003 as a government ordinance. For the histories of Urawa, Ōmiya and Yono before the merger, see
Urawa-ku and Saitama, Ōmiya-ku and Saitama and Yono and Saitama, respectively.
On April 1, 2005, it merged with the city of Iwatsuki to its east, which became a new ward, Iwatsuki-ku.
The city is 20 to 30 km north of central Tokyo. This is the center of the Kantō Plain. The city is mostly below 20 meters above sea level. There are no mountains or hills in the city.
Saitama has ten wards ("ku"), which were assigned official colours as of April 2005:
Manufacturing includes automotive (Honda manufactures the Honda Legend here), food, optical, precision and pharmaceutical products. Iwatsuki is famous for manufacturing of "hinamatsuri" dolls and ornate "kabuto" (samurai helmets).
Saitama is a regional transportation hub for both passengers and freight.
Ōmiya Station is the biggest railway hub in the prefecture.
The closest major airports are Haneda Airport and Narita International Airport, both about two hours away.
Omiya Law School
Saitama has two J. League football (soccer) teams: the Urawa Red Diamonds and Omiya Ardija.