The sea and the northerly latitude have both left an indelible imprint on the culture, landscape and wildlife of these remote and rugged islands. Standing 150km north east of the Scottish mainland, Shetland is constantly influenced by the forces of nature.
The turbulent seas that surround the islands have carved a remarkable coastline of geos, stacks, caves, arches and blowholes. There are almost 400km of cliffs - a fifth of the total for Scotland - and these support bird colonies so big they are known as seabird cities. With more than a million birds from 22 different species, the islands' display of breeding seabirds is the most spectacular in Europe.
Much of Shetland has a covering of moorland, with crofting communities usually confined to precious pockets of more productive land, often close to the coast. The moors are home to waders like golden plover and whimbrel and seabirds such as arctic skua and bonxies (great skua). The haunting call of the red-throated diver is a special prize of the Shetland wildlife experience - half the British population nest here.
The extreme climate limits the number of different plants and animals that can survive here. But those that do are often northern species rare or absent on the Scottish mainland, with the Shetland mouse-ear chickweed unique to the islands. Traditional crofting methods resulted in fields filled with birds and wildflowers. There are rich plant communities, too, on ungrazed cliffs, salt drenched clifftops, and coastal grassland.
Maps show more than 1,500 lochs and pools scattered across the landscape. The red-necked phalarope nests in the islands, and virtually nowhere else in Britain. Across Shetland, archaeologists have found signs of thousands of years of human presence. Today, the livelihoods of many islanders depend on commercial fishing, aquaculture, fish processing, and the oil industry based at Sullom Voe.
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