Geography of Scotland more rugged Highland region contains the majority of Scotland's mountainous terrain, including the highest peak, Ben Nevis. Lowland areas, in the southern part of Scotland, are flatter and home to most of the population, especially the narrow waist of land between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth known as the Central Belt. Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, although Edinburgh is the capital and political centre of the country. While the Lowlands are less elevated, upland and mountainous terrain is located across the Southern Uplands. An abundance of natural resources such as coal, iron and zinc
Geography of Scotland in the Middle Ages burghs, the late Middle Ages saw the proliferation of baronial and ecclesiastical burghs; 51 were created between 1450 and 1516. Most were much smaller than their royal counterparts, and excluded from international trade they acted mainly as local markets and centres of craftsmanship. There are almost no written sources from which to re-construct the demography of early medieval Scotland. Estimates have been made of a population of 10,000 inhabitants in Dál Riata and 80–100,000 for Pictland, which was probably the largest region. It is likely that the fifth and sixth centuries saw higher mortality rates owing to the appearance of