County Dossier
Ross-shire
Highland county of mountains, firths and clans.
Ross-shire is a maritime county in the Scottish Highlands, stretching from the North Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west.
At a glance
Ross-shire at a glance
Highland county of mountains, firths and clans.
- Ancient Pictish province
- Shire from the 13th century
- Dingwall = county town
- Area: 3,089 sq miles / 8,000 sq km
- Population: 69,503
- County Top: Carn Eige (3,881ft / 1,183m)
County Geography
Ross-shire meets Sutherland to the north, Inverness-shire to the south, and Cromartyshire around the eastern firth country, while the Moray Firth, the Atlantic, and the Minch frame its eastern, western, and island-facing sides. The county is shaped by the Cromarty and Dornoch firths, the mountains and sea-lochs of Wester Ross, and the outer island form of Lewis.
Ross-shire is easy to recognise through firth, mountain, sea-loch, and outer island.
Map Reference
View Ross-shire on the map
Ross-shire is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Dingwall, Tain, Ullapool, Gairloch, and Stornoway show the county from the east-coast firth side to the western sea-loch coast and the island reach of Lewis.
Connections
The county’s routes have long followed the east-coast plain, crossed the western glens and sea-lochs, and run by sea to Lewis. Movement follows the same firth, mountain, sea-loch, and island pattern.
Names
- Ross-shire
- County of Ross
- Ross
- Siorrachd Rois
Siorrachd Rois is the Gaelic form of Ross-shire. County of Ross is the formal historical style, Ross is the shorter paired form, and charters preserve the learned Latinised form Rossia.
The county grew from an older Pictish province and stood as a shire from the thirteenth century, with Dingwall long central to its public life. That firth-to-island Highland geography still makes Ross-shire clear as a historic county.