Orkney is made up of 70, or so, islands, of which, only 17 are inhabited. Lying on latitude 59 degrees north – which is only 50 miles south of Greenland – Orkney is, at its widest, 30 miles from east to west and 53 miles north to south.
With a total coastline of approximately 570 miles, the islands cover an area of 974 square kilometres (376 square miles), more than half of which is taken up by the Mainland.