What is Scottish Highlands?
{{Infobox settlement | name = Scottish Highlands | native_name = | native_name_lang = Ghàidhealtachd ([[Scottish Gaelic|Gaelic]])/Hielans (Scots) | settlement_type = | image_skyline = Scottish Highlands and Lowlands.png | imagesize = 230px | image_alt = | image_caption = Lowland-Highland divide | subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|United Kingdom]] | subdivision_name = | population_demonym = Highlander | population_note = | timezone1 = GMT/BST | utc_offset1 = |coordinates = {{coord|57.12|-4.71|display=title}} }} [[File:Scotland (Location) Named (HR).png|thumb|The main geographical <br>divisions of Scotland]] The '''Scottish Highlands''' is a historic region of [[Scotland]]. It is the area to the north of the [[Highland Boundary Fault]]. The [[Fault (geology)|fault]] separates the hard [[igneous]] and [[metamorphic rock]]s to the north from the softer [[sedimentary rock]]s of the [[Scottish Lowlands]] in the south. The Highlands are divided in two parts. The [[Great Glen]] divides the [[Grampian Mountains]] to the southeast from the [[Northwest Highlands]]. == Population == The area is generally sparsely populated, with many [[mountain range]]s, and includes the highest [[mountain]] in the British Isles, [[Ben Nevis]]. Before the 19th century the Highlands was home to a larger population but, for several reasons, the area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. The average population density in the Highlands and Islands is lower than that of [[Sweden]], [[Norway]], [[Papua New Guinea]] and [[Argentina]]. The reasons for the low population include the harsh nature of the land. Also, the outlawing of the traditional Highland way of life after the [[Jacobite]] Rising of 1745, the infamous [[Highland Clearances]], and mass migration to urban areas during the [[Industrial Revolution]] all had their effects. People from this region are tradition