The archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland are the products of some of the most dramatic events which have occurred in the Earths history. The Shetlands are the eroded roots of a vast mountain range that once soared to Himalayan heights and extended from Scandinavia to the Appalachians. Around 65 million years ago this mighty chain was split asunder by the shifting of the Earths tectonic plates and the North Atlantic Ocean was formed. In earlier times the area was occupied by a huge freshwater lake