In May 1999, Scotland elected its first separate parliament in three centuries of voting. Labour won the largest number of seats, defeating the Scottish National Party (SNP), which supports Scotland's independence from Britain. The SNP dealt Labour a stunning blow in parliamentary elections in May 2007, taking 47 out of 129 seats. The Labour Party won 46 seats. Prior to the election, the SNP held 25 seats.

Scotland is part of the United Kingdom on the British Isles. It makes up one-third, or 32% of the island. It is bordered on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, while the North Sea is to the east of the country. England makes up the southeastern border. The Irish Sea is directly south of Scotland. The total area of the country is a little more than 30,400 square miles. Scotland has a positive-relative location, and is a developed country. There are over 800 islands that are part of the nation, although there are only 186 islands that are inhabited. The majority of Scotland's islands lay on its west coast. They are divided into two groups: the Inner Hebrides, and the Outer Hebrides. The greatest length of Scotland is about 287 miles on the mainland; including the Orkney and Shetland islands to the north would stretch the length to 450 miles. The widest stretch of land is about 150 miles, and the skinniest width goes down to 24 miles. Scotland is divided into three regions: the Highlands, the Central Lowlands, and the Southern Uplands. More than half of Scotland is the Highlands, which is the most rugged region of all of the British Isles. The Highlands contains the highest point in the Britis

The Economy More than three-fourths of Scotland's land is used for agriculture. The average temperatures are as follows: January ranges from 37-39?F, depending on the area, and July averages between 57-59?F-again depending on the area of the country (Scotland. The valleys in this region are a lot wider and less rugged than in the Highlands. 25 million people from other countries of Great Britain vacation here each year, and nearly 700,000 visit from overseas. The south holds large deposits of zinc. Scotland is known for is beef and dairy cattle. Scottish breweries make very good beer that is exported, but the biggest drink exported is Scotch whisky. The Scottish form of Gaelic is also spoken, but by fewer than 100,000, and by mainly inhabitants of the Highlands and island groups (Encarta, 1999). Bagpipes are traditionally associated with Scotland, but were actually introduced to this nation by the Romans, who had acquired them in the Middle East. "About 36% of the labor force is employed in manufacturing" (Encarta, 1999). The southernmost region of Scotland is the Southern Uplands. Bibliography BibliographyEncarta Encyclopedia. The Roman Catholic Church is second important. It is made in large quantities for export, but is also drunk in the home often.

Maps are one of the most ancient and most modern products. All human beings acquire knowledge of their surroundings through personal encounter and communication with others. Transforming these ‘mental maps’ into artefacts – essentially, making a map as something to extend memory and which may be made sense of by others – arguably predates writing. Yet our understanding of a map as a scaled representation of the real world designed in standardised ways is relatively recent. Maps, then, are complex cultural creations that need to be understood in the context of the times and peoples who made them.