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A Dinosaur of Rock
The prospect from seaward has been likened to the half-submerged skeleton of a huge dinosaur. Shetland is formed by the sunken stumps of ancient mountains which, long before the dinosaurs, stood as high as the Himalayas.

Aeons of erosion and repeated glaciations have gouged long ridges of hills and valleys.

When the sea rose 120 metres after the ice age it created an extraordinarily indented coastline.

Nowhere is more than three miles from the sea and the landscape is studded with thousands of fresh water lochs.

From five miles up, on jets flying between Scandinavia and the west coast of North America, passengers see the islands as a delicate fretwork of rock, heather and water, like a giant's jigsaw puzzle thrown down in a tantrum.