Scottish Borders The Mairches |
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Coordinates: 55°21′36″N 2°29′24″W / 55.36000°N 2.49000°WCoordinates: 55°21′36″N 2°29′24″W / 55.36000°N 2.49000°W | ||
Admin HQ | Newtown St Boswells | |
Government | ||
• Body | Scottish Borders Council | |
• Control | SNP + Ind + LD (council NOC) | |
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Area | ||
• Total | 1,831.15 sq mi (4,742.65 km2) | |
Area rank | Ranked 6th | |
Population (2010 est.) | ||
• Total | 114,000 | |
• Rank | Ranked 17th | |
• Density | 60/sq mi (24/km2) | |
ONS code | 00QE | |
ISO 3166 code | GB-SCB | |
Website | www |
The Scottish Borders (Scots: The Mairches, lit. "The Marches") is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian and, to the south and east, Northumberland in England. The administrative centre of the area is Newtown St Boswells.
Historically, the name Scottish Borders designated the entire border region of southern Scotland and, together with neighbouring areas of England, was part of the historical Borders region.
The Scottish Borders are in the eastern part of the Southern Uplands.
The region is hilly and largely rural, with the River Tweed flowing west to east through it. In the east of the region, the area that borders the River Tweed is flat and is known as 'The Merse'. The Tweed and its tributaries drain the entire region with the river flowing into the North Sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed, and forming the border with England for the last twenty miles or so of its length.
The term Central Borders refers to the area in which the majority of the main towns of Galashiels, Selkirk, Hawick, Jedburgh, Earlston, Kelso, Newtown St. Boswells, St Boswells, Peebles, Melrose and Tweedbank are located.