Global Change Data Encyclopedia
Shetland Islands, United Kingdom
Liu, C.* Shi, R. X.
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Keywords: Shetland Islands; Scotland; United Kingdom; Atlantic Ocean; data encyclopedia
The Shetland Islands of Scotland is located from 59°30′24″N to 60°51′39″N, from 0°43′25″W to 2°7′3″W, between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean (Figure 1, Figure 2). Shetland Islands extend 157 km from the northernmost Out Stack Isle to the southernmost Fair Isle. The Islands are 300 km to the west coast of Norway in its east, 291 km to the Faroe Islands in its northwest and 43 km to the North Ronaldsay in its southwest[1–2]. The Mainland is the main island in the Shetland Islands, and 168 km to the Scotland in its south.
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Figure 1 Geo-location of Shetland Islands (ArcGIS .shp data format)
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The Shetland Islands are consisted of 1,018 islands and islets, in which the area of each island or islet is more than 6 m2. The total area of the Shetland Islands is 1,491.33 km2, and the coastline is 2,060.13 km long[1]. There are only 23 islands with each area more than 1 km2 in the Shetland Islands (Table 1), accounting for 2% of the total number of islands and 98.67% of the total area of the islands. They are Mainland Island, Yell Island, Unst Island, Fetlar Island, Bressay Island, Whalsay Island, Muckle Roe Island, Foula Island, etc.[3–4]. Among which, the Mainland Island is the biggest island with area of 960.30 km2 and coastline of 962.70 km. There are 944 islands with each area between 100 m2-1 km2, accounting for 93% of the total number of the islands and 1.33% of the total area of the islands. There are 51 islands or isles with each area less than 100 m2, accounting for 5% of the total number of the islands, and the total area is negligible (only 3,074 m2, Table 2).
Table 1 List of Islands of Shetland Islands with area more than 1 km2[1]
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Name of island
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Geo-location
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Central location
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Area (km2)
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Coastline (km)
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Mainland Is.
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59º51′5″N-60º38′16″N,
1º42′15″W-1º2′51″W
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60º17′43″N, 1º20′47″W
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960.30
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962.70
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Yell Is.
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60º28′58″N-60º44′3″N,
1º12′19″W-0º58′52″W
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60º36′23″N, 1º5′37″W
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212.92
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187.23
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Unst Is.
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60º40′11″N-60º50′46″N,
0º59′4″W-0º45′28″W
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60º45′31″N, 0º52′56″W
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121.93
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123.78
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Fetlar Is.
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60º33′43″N-60º38′2″N,
0º56′57″W-0º45′54″W
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60º36′41″N, 0º51′26″W
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41.47
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61.017
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Bressay Is.
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60º6′9″N-60º11′22″N,
1º8′52″W-1º2′43″W
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60º8′55″N, 1º5′40″W
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27.99
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40.340
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Whalsay Is.
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60º19′34″N-60º23′6″N,
1º2′20″W-0º53′59″W
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60º21′19″N, 0º58′45″W
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19.92
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36.36
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Muckle Roe Is.
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60º20′41″N-60º23′29″N, 1º28′38″W-1º22′44″W
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60º22′0″N, 1º25′31″W
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17.44
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32.26
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Foula Is.
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60º6′33″N-60º9′30″N,
2º7′3″W-2º2′23″W
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60º8′12″N, 2º4′29″W
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13.45
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20.96
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Papa Stour Is.
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60º18′54″N-60º20′47″N, 1º44′17″W-1º39′39″W
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60º19′53″N, 1º41′60″W
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8.39
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34.630
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Fair Isle
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59º30′41″N-59º33′15″N, 1º39′38″W-1º35′48″W
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59º31′60″N, 1º37′48″W
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8.31
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29.90
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West Burra Is.
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60º2′27″N-60º7′6″N,
1º22′44″W-1º18′33″W
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60º4′46″N, 1º20′26″W
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7.43
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34.78
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East Burra Is.
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60º2′24″N-60º5′50″N,
1º20′30″W-1º17′46″W
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60º4′27″N, 1º19′5″W
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5.09
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19.85
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Vementry Is.
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60º18′40″N-60º20′29″N, 1º29′29″W-1º26′17″W
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60º19′37″N, 1º27′53″W
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3.78
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24.74
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Noss Is.
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60º7′52″N-60º9′17″N,
1º2′51″W-1º0′10″W
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60º8′39″N, 1º1′16″W
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3.37
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11.75
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Vaila Is.
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60º11′27″N-60º12′36″N, 1º36′24″W-1º33′42″W
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60º12′7″N, 1º35′3″W
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3.10
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10.23
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Hascosay Is.
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60º35′48″N-60º37′10″N,
1º0′54″W-0º58′5″W
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60º36′41″N, 0º59′30″W
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3.03
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10.91
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Trondra Is.
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60º5′56″N-60º7′55″N,
1º18′39″W-1º16′23″W
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60º6′56″N, 1º17′33″W
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2.89
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11.05
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Uyea Is.
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60º39′34″N-60º40′46″N, 0º55′12″W-0º52′32″W
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60º40′14″N, 0º53′55″W
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2.42
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9.42
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Papa Little Is.
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60º19′16″N-60º20′34″N, 1º24′22″W-1º22′31″W
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60º19′57″N, 1º23′25″W
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2.18
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8.65
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Mousa Is.
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59º59′21″N-60º0′31″N,
1º11′37″W-1º9′28″W
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59º59′48″N, 1º10′32″W
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1.88
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9.96
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Housay Is.
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60º24′34″N-60º25′59″N, 0º47′57″W-0º45′10″W
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60º25′20″N, 0º46′21″W
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1.80
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14.15
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West Linga Is.
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60º21′2″N-60º22′14″N,
1º2′45″W-1º1′31″W
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60º21′40″N, 1º2′11″W
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1.30
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6.28
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Hildasay Is.
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60º8′17″N-60º9′10″N,
1º22′10″W-1º21′1″W
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60º8′45″N, 1º21′36″W
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1.06
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6.04
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Total
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1,471.44
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1,706.96
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Table 2 List of Islands of Shetland Islands with area less than 1km2[1]
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Name of island
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Geo-location
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Central location
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Area (km2)
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Coastline (km)
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Balta Is.
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60º44′23″N-60º45′38″N,
0º47′60″W-0º47′4″W
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60º44′43″N, 0º47′32″W
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0.97
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8.06
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Bigga Is.
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60º29′9″N-60º30′8″N,
1º12′8″W-1º10′52″W
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60º29′37″N, 1º11′28″W
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0.86
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4.79
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Samphrey Is.
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60º27′42″N-60º28′31″N,
1º9′48″W-1º8′19″W
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60º28′2″N, 1º9′5″W
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0.81
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5.15
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Oxna Island
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60º6′41″N-60º7′24″N,
1º22′42″W-1º21′32″W
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60º7′4″N, 1º22′11″W
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0.78
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4.30
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South Havra Is.
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60º1′9″N-60º1′52″N,
1º22′3″W-1º20′41″W
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60º1′33″N, 1º21′22″W
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0.67
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8.10
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Linga Is.
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60º21′9″N-60º21′41″N,
1º22′4″W-1º21′12″W
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60º21′26″N, 1º21′38″W
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0.63
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2.98
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Papa Is.
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60º7′7″N-60º7′37″N,
1º21′39″W-1º20′3″W
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60º7′16″N, 1º20′51″W
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0.61
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6.37
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Bruray Is.
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60º25′18″N-60º25′51″N, 0º45′33″W-0º44′23″W
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60º25′35″N, 0º44′57″W
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0.59
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4.88
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Lamba Is.
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60º30′38″N-60º31′13″N, 1º17′58″W-1º16′57″W
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60º30′57″N, 1º17′29″W
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0.52
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3.55
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Linga Island
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60º39′34″N-60º40′22″N,
0º59′21″W-0º58′6″W
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60º39′44″N, 0º58′25″W
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0.51
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4.21
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Uyea Isle
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60º36′55″N-60º37′20″N, 1º26′16″W-1º24′58″W
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60º37′7″N, 1º25′41″W
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0.46
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5 40
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Brother Isle
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60º30′38″N-60º31′7″N,
1º14′9″W-1º13′6″W
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60º30′52″N, 1º13′37″W
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0.46
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3.33
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Grunay Is.
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60º25′3″N-60º25′31″N,
0º45′6″W-0º43′56″W
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60º25′16″N, 0º44′27″W
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0.35
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4.46
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East Linga Is.
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60º20′15″N-60º20′42″N, 0º53′36″W-0º52′46″W
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60º20′27″N, 0º53′12″W
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0.28
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3.28
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Huney Is.
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60º43′51″N-60º44′20″N, 0º48′57″W-0º48′22″W
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60º44′5″N, 0º48′40″W
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0.23
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2.95
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Cheynies Island
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60º7′41″N-60º7′59″N,
1º22′49″W-1º22′10″W
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60º7′50″N, 1º22′20″W
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0.17
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2.02
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Lunna Holm Is.
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60º27′7″N-60º27′24″N,
1º2′45″W-1º2′21″W
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60º27′15″N, 1º2′33″W
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0.14
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1.45
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Ramna Stacks Is.
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60º39′4″N-60º39′16″N,
1º18′23″W-1º17′58″W
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60º39′9″N, 1º18′11″W
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0.10
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1.44
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Bound Skerry Isle
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60º25′22″N-60º25′33″N, 0º43′48″W-0º43′25″W
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60º25′28″N, 0º43′38″W
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0.07
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1.26
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Out Stack Isle
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60º51′4″N-60º51′17″N,
0º53′24″W-0º53′6″W
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60º51′11″N, 0º53′16″W
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0.05
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1.83
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St. Ninian’s Isle
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59º58′18″N-59º58′26″N, 1º21′58″W-1º21′40″W
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59º58′22″N, 1º21′50″W
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0.05
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0.81
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Muckle Flugga Isle
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60º44′23″N-60º45′38″N,
0º47′60″W-0º47′4″W
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60º51′4″N, 0º53′33″W
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0.03
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1.38
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Dore holm Is.
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60º29′9″N-60º30′8″N,
1º12′8″W-1º10′52″W
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60º28′10″N, 1º36′10″W
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0.03
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0.73
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Muckle Skerry Isle
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60º27′42″N-60º28′31″N,
1º9′48″W-1º8′19″W
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60º26′24″N, 0º51′45″W
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0.03
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0.75
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Muckle Is.
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60º51′15″N-60º51′23″N,
0º53′13″W-0º53′0″W
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60º51′19″N, 0º53′6″W
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0.03
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0.87
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Ve Skeries Isle
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60º22′4″N-60º22′11″N,
1º49′41″W-1º49′29″W
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60º22′8″N, 1º49′35″W
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0.02
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0.68
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Brough Holm Is.
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60º43′51″N-60º43′58″N,
0º57′60″W-0º57′45″W
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60º43′54″N, 0º57′53″W
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0.02
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0.68
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Forewick Holm Is.
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60º19′5″N-60º19′10″N,
1º39′56″W-1º39′45″W
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60º19′8″N, 1º39′51″W
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0.02
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0.55
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Total Others
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10.40
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272.31
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Shetland Islands
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59°30′24″N-60°51′39″N, 2°7′3″W-0°43′25″W
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1,491.33
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2,060.13
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In the Shetland Islands, there are three airports in Mainland Island, including one large airport in the south and two small airports in the central and northwest. There are small airports on Unst and Papa Stour Island, respectively, which provide convenient access inside and outside the islands[5].
The dataset is developed based on the Google Earth images and the thematic maps of Scotland. The dataset is archived in both .kmz[6] and .shp[7] formats, it is consisted of 15 data files with data size of 20.4 MB (compressed in 2 data files, 8.58 MB).
References
[1] Liu, C., Shi, R. X. Shetland Islands [DB/OL]. Global Change Research Data Publishing & Repository, 2017. DOI: 10.3974/geodb.2017.01.05.V1.
[2] Shetland [OL]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shetland.
[3] SinoMaps Press. World Atlas [M]. Beijing: SinaMaps Press. 1987: 22.
[4] Editorial Office of Global Geographical Names. Chinese-Foreign Language Handbook of Global Geographical Names [M]. Beijing: SinoMaps Press, 1999.
[5] David Megginson. OurAirports [OL]. https://openflights.org/data.html.
Data Computing Environment
[6] Google LLC. Google Earth Pro. 7.3.2.5481 (32-bit), hk.google.com.
[7] ESRI. ArcGIS campus license of Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
URL for Data Downloading
http://www.geodoi.ac.cn/WebEn/doi.aspx?ID=642.
Or search through: http://www.geodoi.ac.cn.