Together with similar peaks to the south in Wester Ross, such as Stac Pollaidh, they have a unique structure with great scope for exploration. Such mountains are attractive for hill walking and scrambling, despite their remote location. The spectacular scenery has been created by denudation to form isolated sandstone peaks such as Foinaven, Arkle, Cùl Mòr and Suilven. The western part comprises Torridonian sandstone underlain by Lewisian gneiss. Sutherland has many rugged mountains such as Ben Hope, the most northerly Munro, and Ben More Assynt, the tallest peak in the county at 998 m (3,274 ft). The number of visiting tourists is, naturally, minimal. The county has many fine beaches, a remote example being Sandwood Bay, which can only be reached by foot along a rough track. Several peninsulas can be found along the north and west coasts, most notably Strathy Point, A' Mhòine, Durness/ Faraid Head (the latter two formed by the Kyle of Durness, Loch Eriboll and the Kyle of Tongue), Ceathramh Garbh (formed by Loch Laxford and Loch Inchard), and Stoer Head. The remote far northwest point of Sutherland, Cape Wrath, is also the most northwesterly point in Scotland. The east coast contains the sea lochs of Loch Fleet and Dornoch Firth. The sea-coasts boast very high cliffs and deep fjords in the east and north, ragged inlets on the west and sandy beaches in the north. It stretches from the Atlantic in the west, up to the Pentland Firth and across to the North Sea in the east. Despite being Scotland's fifth-largest county in terms of area, it has a smaller population than a medium-size Lowland Scottish town. The inland landscape is rugged and very sparsely populated. The Burghfield House Campus, also in Dornoch, is the home for the Centre for History teaching undergraduate and postgraduate history degrees to students around the UHI network and worldwide. The Ross House Campus in Dornoch was the first establishment in the United Kingdom to provide a degree in golf management. Further education is provided by North Highland College, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands. Much of Sutherland is poor relative to the rest of Scotland, with few job opportunities beyond government-funded employment, agriculture and seasonal tourism. Much of the population of approximately 13,000 inhabitants are situated in small coastal towns, such as Helmsdale and Lochinver, which until very recently made much of their living from the rich fishing of the waters around the British Isles. Even today this part of Sutherland is known as Mackay Country, and, unlike other areas of Scotland where the names traditionally associated with the area have become diluted, there is still a preponderance of Mackays in the Dùthaich. This was the home of the powerful and warlike Clan Mackay, and as such was named in Gaelic, Dùthaich 'Ic Aoidh, the Homeland of Mackay. The northeast corner of Sutherland, traditionally known as the Province of Strathnaver, was not incorporated into Sutherland until 1601. Cataibh is also sometimes used to refer to the area as a whole. In Gaelic, the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: Dùthaich MhicAoidh (or Dùthaich 'IcAoidh) in the northeast, Asainte ( Assynt) in the west, and Cataibh in the east. Although it contains some of the northernmost land in the island of Great Britain, it was called Suðrland ("southern land") from the standpoint of Orkney and Caithness. The name Sutherland dates from the era of Norwegian Viking rule and settlement over much of the Highlands and Islands, under the rule of the jarl of Orkney. These include high sea cliffs, and very old mountains composed of Precambrian and Cambrian rocks. Like its southern neighbour Ross-shire, Sutherland has some of the most dramatic scenery in Europe, especially on its western fringe where the mountains meet the sea. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later combined into Ross and Cromarty) to the south and the Atlantic to the north and west. Sutherland ( Scottish Gaelic: Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland.
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