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Aberdeen, former county of Scotland, projecting eastward into the North Sea. It was the seventh largest and most easterly of Scotland’s counties. Since the reorganization of 1975, it is included in the districts of Banif and Buchan, Gordon, City of Aberdeen, and Kincardine and Deeside (qq.v.), of Grampian (q.v.) region.
Although Aberdeen lies north of the Highland Boundary Fault, the coastal lowlands occupy a significant part of the county; they extend westward up the valleys of such rivers as the Dee, Don, and Deveron, and their fertile glacial soils are well suited to agriculture. Fertile raised beaches fringed with sand dunes alternate along the coast with magnificent cliffs of igneous and metamorphic rocks. The Cairngorm and Grampian mountains form a mountainous rim to the west and south. Situated in the rain shadow of the Grampians, Aberdeen has a relatively dry climate, parts of the coastal plain having an annual rainfall of less than 25 in. (635 mm). Temperatures are warm for the latitude, but winters are often harsh because of exposure to north and east winds.
Parts of lowland Aberdeen have been occupied since the Middle Stone Age, but effective colonization started with the settlement of the so-called Beaker folk at the beginning of the Bronze Ae (c. 2000—1800 Bc). Many stone 1715. Meanwhile trade with Europe had prospered, and three universities were founded, King’s College (1494) and Marischal College (1593) in Old and New Aberdeen and a short- lived university in Fraserburgh.
Since the mid-l9th century the fertile lowlands have become intensively farmed.
Emphasis on beef cattle and fodder production grew as transportation to markets improved. Sheep are important in both highland and lowland areas; oats is the chief fodder crop and, with roots and barley, is grown up to elevations of about 800 ft (244 m). Dairying, pig raising, and egg production have expanded. Two-thirds of the population depend on agriculture, mainly on small farms and crofts (subsistence tenant farms).
Fishing is the second most important occupation, although the discovery of oil in the North Sea in the late l960s and its production in the mid-l970s promises new dimensions to the economy of both the city and the surrounding region. The city of Aberdeen (q.v.) developed as Scotland’s main fishing port after the introduction of the steam trawler. Fish processing and freezing have increased at Aberdeen, Peterhead, and Fraserburgh as whitefish replace the declining herring fishery. Shipbuilding is still important in Aberdeen. Papermaking, granite working, engineering, and manufacture of paint and chemicals are also concentrated in the city of Aberdeen, which acts as a market and distributing centre for north Scotland. Rural industries include forestry, distilling, and tourism. Winter sports centres have been developed in the Cairngorms. The road system radiates mainly from the city of Aberdeen on the coast. Railways connect Aberdeen with the north and with Dundee and the south, and, by a secondary branching line, with Fraserburgh and Peter- head.
