Historic county of Scotland
Ross-shire
Siorrachd Rois / Ross
Fertile firths east, mountains and sea-lochs west, Lewis beyond the Minch.
Ross-shire stretches right across the Scottish Highlands from the Moray Firth side to the Atlantic, then continues offshore to include Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Few counties contain such an extraordinary geographical range.
Easter Ross contains broader, lower and more agricultural country around the eastern firths, with Dingwall near the head of the Cromarty Firth. Wester Ross is dramatically different: mountains descend into deep sea-lochs, glens and a highly indented Atlantic coast. Beyond the Minch, Lewis adds an extensive island landscape of peat moor, lochs and Atlantic shore.
- Ancient Pictish province
- Shire from the 13th century
- Dingwall = county town
- Charters style it Rossia
County geography
Current Census
Contemporary Census profile
Scotland Census 2022. Detailed contemporary statistics are available in the Geographic County Census Explorer.
- Population density
- 24.0 people per sq mi (9.25 people per km²)
Easter Ross and the firths
Eastern Ross-shire is the county’s gentler face. Fertile lowlands lie around the great firths, with the mountains standing back from the coast.
This more open country provides a striking contrast with Wester Ross and helps explain why many of the county’s older centres developed on the eastern side.
Wester Ross
Westwards the Highlands tighten dramatically. Mountain groups, narrow glens, freshwater lochs and long sea-lochs create one of Britain’s most intricate mainland landscapes.
The Atlantic coast is repeatedly cut by water reaching deep between the mountains. Ross-shire therefore changes from east-coast farmland to genuinely rugged western Highland country within a single county.
Across the Minch to Lewis
Ross-shire also includes Lewis, the northern portion of the island of Lewis and Harris. Its extensive peat moor, rocky coast and scattered settlements form a very different landscape again from either Easter or Wester Ross.
The sea separates Lewis physically from mainland Ross-shire without removing it from the county.
County questions
Questions about Ross-shire
What is the relationship between Ross-shire and Cromartyshire?
They are separate geographic counties. Cromartyshire has an exceptionally scattered geography, with territories interwoven with Ross-shire on the mainland. The Historic Counties Standard preserves both as distinct counties while recognising that, for many practical purposes, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire can reasonably be considered together.
Is Lewis in Ross-shire?
Yes. Lewis is geographically part of Ross-shire. Harris, on the southern part of the same island, belongs to Inverness-shire.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County of Ross
- Local name
- Siorrachd Rois
- Alternative name
- Ross
- Earliest reference
- Charters style it Rossia
Ross-shire, County of Ross, Ross and Siorrachd Rois are established forms associated with the county. The name Ross is considerably older than the later shire institutions attached to it.