Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Shetland Islands (sometimes historically spelled Zetland, formerly Hjaltland) is one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland. It is a Scottish island group between the Orkney Islands and the Faroe Islands north of mainland Britain. Total area is approximately 1469km2, the administrative centre and largest town is Lerwick. The Shetlands were originally a Norwegian colony, and were pawned to the crown of Scotland on February 20, 1472. Main islands are: Mainland Yell Unst Fetlar Nearby are Foula and Fair Isle. Famous places: Mousa broch Jarlshof settlement Main Industries: Crude oil and Natural gas production Agriculture Fishing Language: The older Norn was replaced by Scots which in turn is being replaced by Scottish English. External links Shetland Islands Council's official website Shetland Dialect This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.