Orkney Islands, archipelago and council area (1991 pop. 19,650), 376 sq mi (974 sq km), N Scotland, consisting of about 70 islands in the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, N of Scottish mainland across the Pentland Firth. About 20 islands are inhabited. Mainland (Pomona), the largest, has Kirkwall Kirkwall (kûrk`wôl, –wəl), town (1991 pop. 5,867), N Scotland, on the east coast of Mainland Island.
..... Click the link for more information. , the county town, and Stromness Stromness, town, on Mainland island, Orkney Islands, N Scotland. It has a harbor with shipyards and docks. Eggs are exported. In the 18th and 19th cent., Stromness was a whaling center and a port of call for the Hudson's Bay Company.
..... Click the link for more information. . Other large islands are Hoy Hoy, island, 13 mi (21 km) long and 6 mi (9.7 km) wide, off N Scotland, second largest of the Orkney Islands . It is located at the southwestern side of the Scapa Flow anchorage.
..... Click the link for more information. , South Ronaldsay, Stronsay, Sanday, Westray, and Rousay.

The climate is mild, windy, and wet. The Orkneys are one of Scotland's richest farming regions. Beef cattle and eggs are the most important produce. Sheep and pigs are also raised. Some fishing, mainly for lobster, is carried on. The discovery of North Sea oil in the early 1970s provided employment for many inhabitants.

The Orkney Islands were settled by Picts Picts, ancient inhabitants of central and N Scotland, of uncertain origin. First mentioned (A.D. 297) by the Roman writer Eumenius as northern invaders of Roman Britain, they were probably descendants of late Bronze Age and early Iron Age invaders of Britain.
..... Click the link for more information. . Vikings Vikings, Scandinavian warriors who raided the coasts of Europe and the British Isles from the 9th cent. to the 11th cent. During the Neolithic period the Scandinavians had lived in small autonomous communities as farmers, fishermen, and hunters.
..... Click the link for more information. invaded in the 8th cent. From 875 to 1231 it was a Viking earldom under the Norwegian crown. Details of this period are recounted in the Orkneyinga Saga, a Norse epic. In 1231, the islands passed to the Scottish earls of Angus on the death of the last Viking earl. It became a possession of the Scottish crown in 1472 in trust for the undelivered dowry of Margaret of Norway on her marriage to James III (1469), but the Norse occupation left marked Scandinavian traces; islanders spoke Norn (a form of Norse) until the 18th cent. James V visited Kirkwall in 1540 and made the Orkney Islands a county. Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (skăp`ə), area of water, 15 mi (24 km) long and 8 mi (12.9 km) wide, in the Orkney Islands, off N Scotland.
..... Click the link for more information. , S of Mainland, was Britain's major naval base in World Wars I and II.

The islands have many prehistoric relics. Stone Age villages have been unearthed at Skara Brae Skara Brae (skâr`ə brā), Stone Age village, on Mainland in the Orkney Islands , N Scotland. Dating from c.3200 to 2200 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. on Mainland and a broch (prehistoric fort) at Rinyo on Rousay. Other relics are the burial chambers at Maeshowe Maeshowe or Maes Howe (mās`hou)
..... Click the link for more information. and the standing stones at Stenness Standing Stones of Stenness, two rings of flat tablets dating from before c.2500 B.C. One had 12 stones, of which 2 remain standing. The larger, the Ring of Brogar (or Brodgar), had approximately 60 stones, of which 36 remain.
..... Click the link for more information. . The islands have become increasingly popular with tourists and are home to the St. Magnus music festival, founded by the composer Peter Maxwell Davies.

Orkney Islands

Island group (pop., 2001: 19,245), Scotland. Lying north of the Scottish mainland, it comprises more than 70 islands and islets and constitutes the Orkney council area. The Orkney Islands, only 20 of which are inhabited, were the Orcades of ancient Classical literature. There is much evidence of prehistoric inhabitants. Norse raiders arrived in the late 8th century AD and colonized the islands in the 9th century. Thereafter they were ruled by Norway and Denmark until Scotland annexed them in 1472. It is a prosperous agricultural area. Kirkwall is the administrative seat.