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  ormer region of Scotland (1975-96), which consisted of five
districts and was replaced by Moray, Aberdeen City, and Aberdeenshire unitary authorities.
The districts of Moray, Banff and Buchan, Gordon, Kincardine and Deeside, and the City of
Aberdeen made up Grampian region. The region was created in 1975 with lands from the
counties of Morayshire, Banffshire, Aberdeenshire, and Kincardineshire. 
 Moray Council - Aberdeenshire Council - Aberdeen City Council
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 owns and cities |
Elgin (administrative headquarters of Moray), Forres, Buckie, Lossiemouth,
Aberdeen (administrative headquarters) Banff, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Peterhead, Stonehaven,
Inverurie |
 rea |
8,717 sq km / 3,366 sq miles |
 opulation |
532,800 (1995) |
| opography |
The land gradually slopes from the Grampian Mountains in the south (Cairn
Gorm 1,245 m / 4,085 ft) towards the Moray Firth; extensive coastal lowlands fringe an
area of sand-dune formation; part of this land was reclaimed from the sea and is now
covered by the Culbin forest.  Spey
Second longest river in Scotland. It flows through Highland and Moray, rising 14 km / 8
miles southeast of Fort Augustus, for 172 km / 107 miles to the Moray Firth between
Lossiemouth and Buckie. It has salmon fisheries at its mouth. The upper river augments the
Lochaber hydroelectric scheme. Whisky is distilled in the Spey valley.
low-lying coastal area on the banks of the rivers Dee and Don
area of contrast with mountainous western interior, intensively farmed core, and
coastal plain; Cairngorm Mountains; rivers Deveron, Ythan, Don, and Dee |
 ommerce |
Industries: whisky distilling, food processing North Sea oil, paper
manufacturing, textiles, engineering, food processing, chemicals
Agriculture: some fishing (Buckie, Lossiemouth); trout and salmon fishing in rivers;
cereals in lowland plain This prosperous part of Scotland is renowned for both
traditional and modern economic enterprise. Agriculturally rich, the area is well known
for cereal production, livestock, such as pedigree Aberdeen Angus and Beef Shorthorn
cattle, and fishing, at Peterhead, Fraserburgh, and MacDuff, in particular. |
| amous people |
William the Lion granted city charter in 1179; burned down in 1336 by
Edward III; rebuilt as New Aberdeen. Poet John Barbour, archdeacon of Aberdeen from about
1356 until his death; Scottish historian Hector Boece (c. 1465-1536), principal of King's
College; theologian George Campbell. The poet Lord Byron received his early education at
the grammar school here. |
| ttractions |
 Elgin
cathedral; Brodie and Duffus castles; Gordonstoun school Brodie Castle, 5 km / 3
miles west of Forres, was built in about 1567 for the Brodie family; it was extended in
the early 17th and 19th centuries. Duffus Castle, 8 km / 5 miles northwest of Elgin, is a
good example of a Norman motte and bailey castle, with a water-filled moat. There
are 33 Sites of Special Scientific Interest, one National Nature Reserve, three Ramsars
(wetland sites), two Special Protection Areas, and one National Scenic Area. Aberdeen
City and port on the east coast, situated between the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don and
has 3 km / 2 miles of sandy beaches.
Aberdeen has the most prosperous local economy in Scotland. Industries include oil and gas
service industries, fish processing, and paper industries. It is the main centre in
Scotland and Europe for offshore oil exploration and there are shore-based maintenance and
service depots for the North Sea oil rigs. Aberdeen is Scotland's third largest city and
has the third largest economic output.
The city has many fine buildings, including the Municipal Buildings (1867); St Andrew's
Episcopal Cathedral (consecrated in 1816); King's College (from 1500) and Marischal
College (founded in 1593, and housed in one of the world's largest granite buildings
constructed in 1836), which together form Aberdeen University; St Machar Cathedral (from
1370); and the Brig O'Balgownie (1314-18). Aberdeen's granite buildings have given it the
name of `Silver City´, although the last granite quarry, in Rubislaw, closed in 1971. Oil
discoveries in the North Sea in the 1960s-70s transformed Aberdeen into the European
`offshore capital´. An airport and heliport at Dyce, 9.6 km / 6 miles northwest of
the city, link the mainland to the rigs.
Among the more imposing of the city's buildings are the art gallery (1884), the grammar
school (1861-63), Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology (1731), and St Nicholas Kirk
(restored 1835-37, but dating from the 12th century). King's College was founded by Bishop
Elphinstone in Old Aberdeen, and Marischal College, in New Aberdeen, was founded by Earl
Marischal of Scotland as a Protestant alternative to King's College. Aberdeen has a large
fish market.
It is a centre for the recently established oil-related services, which include supplying
precision tools, spare parts, catering equipment, food, and domestic supplies for the 90
operational oil fields in the North Sea.
St Andrew's Cathedral, King's and Marischal Colleges, Brig O'Balgownie
  Balmoral Castle;
Braemar Games There are 80 Sites of Special Scientific Interest, eight National
Nature Reserves, three Ramsars (wetland sites), five Special Protection Areas, two
Biogenetic Reserves, two National Scenic Areas, and four country parks. The area has
many fine examples of historic buildings and is particularly rich in castles, including
that at Huntly (16th century); in the Dee valley, Crathes (16th century), Drum, Aboyne,
and Braemar (all 17th century), and Dunnottar Castle (about 1392).
Balmoral Castle, the Queen's Highland residence, is situated 15 km / 9 miles west of
Ballater in the Dee valley.
 Lossiemouth
Fishing port and resort in Moray, Scotland, at the mouth of the River Lossie on the Moray
Firth; population (1991) 7,200. The first Labour prime minister James Ramsay MacDonald was
born here in 1866 and is buried here. There is an RAF base nearby. The Moray Firth at
Lossiemouth is home to one of only two resident populations of bottle-nosed dolphins in
Britain.
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