Editing Caithness (section)

{{Short description|Historic county in northern Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
| name                            = Caithness
| native_name                     = {{Native name|gd|Gallaibh}}
| native_name_lang                = 
| settlement_type                 = [[Shires of Scotland|Historic county]]
| image_skyline                   = 
| image_alt                       = 
| image_caption                   = 
| image_flag                      = Flag of Caithness.svg
| flag_size                       = 150px
| flag_link                       = Flag of Caithness
| flag_alt                        = 
| image_seal                      = 
| seal_alt                        = 
| image_shield                    = 
| shield_alt                      = 
| nickname                        = 
| motto                           = 
| image_map                       = File:Caithness-Scotland.svg
| map_alt                         = 
| map_caption                     = 
| pushpin_map                     = 
| pushpin_map_alt                 = 
| pushpin_map_caption             = 
| coor_pinpoint                   = 
| coordinates                     = {{Coord|58|25|N|3|30|W|display=inline,title|region:GB_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki}}
| coordinates_footnotes           = 
| subdivision_type                = [[Sovereign state]]
| subdivision_name                = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| subdivision_type1               = [[Subdivisions of the United Kingdom|Country]]
| subdivision_name1               = {{flag|Scotland}}
| subdivision_type2               = [[Council area]]
| subdivision_name2               = [[Highland (council area)|Highland]]
| established_title               = 
| established_date                = 
| founder                         = 
| seat_type                       = [[County town]]
| seat                            = [[Wick, Caithness|Wick]]
| government_footnotes            = 
| leader_party                    = 
| leader_title                    = 
| leader_name                     = 
| unit_pref                       = UK<!-- or US or Metric -->
| area_footnotes                  = 
| area_total_sq_mi                = 618
| area_land_sq_mi                 = 
| area_water_sq_mi                = 
| area_total_km2                  = {{convert|618|sqmi|km2|disp=number|0}}
| area_land_km2                   = 
| area_water_km2                  = 
| area_water_percent              = 
| area_note                       = Ranked 14th of 34
| elevation_footnotes             = 
| elevation_m                     = 
| population_footnotes            = 
| population_total                = 25,347<ref name=pop />
| population_as_of                = 2021
| population_density_km2          = auto
| population_demonym              = Caithnesian
| population_note                 = 
| timezone1                       = 
| utc_offset1                     = 
| timezone1_DST                   = 
| utc_offset1_DST                 = 
| postal_code_type                = [[Chapman code]]
| postal_code                     = CAI
| area_code_type                  = 
| area_code                       = 
| iso_code                        = 
| website                         = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| footnotes                       = 
| official_name                   = 
}}

'''Caithness''' ({{IPAc-en|k|eɪ|θ|ˈ|n|ɛ|s}}; {{langx|gd|Gallaibh}} {{IPA|gd|ˈkal̪ˠɪv|}}; {{langx|non| Katanes}}<ref name=snh/>) is a [[Shires of Scotland|historic county]], [[registration county]] and [[Lieutenancy areas of Scotland|lieutenancy area]] of [[Scotland]].

There are two towns, being [[Wick, Caithness|Wick]], which was the county town, and [[Thurso]]. The county includes the northernmost point of mainland Britain at [[Dunnet Head]], and also the most north-easterly point at [[Duncansby Head]] near [[John o' Groats]]. The [[Flow Country]] is the largest [[blanket bog]] in Europe, and covers a large inland area in the west of the county. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of [[Sutherland]] to the west and is otherwise bounded by sea. The land boundary follows a [[drainage divide|watershed]] and is crossed by two roads (the [[A9 road (Great Britain)|A9]] and the [[A836 road|A836]]) and by one railway (the [[Far North Line]]). Across the [[Pentland Firth]], ferries link Caithness with [[Orkney]], and Caithness also has an airport at [[Wick, Highland|Wick]]. The Pentland Firth island of [[Stroma, Scotland|Stroma]] is within Caithness.

From the 9th century the Caithness area was ruled by the [[Jarl of Orkney]], who at different times owed allegiance to both [[Norway]] and Scotland. Caithness subsequently became a separate [[provincial lordship]] from Orkney in the 14th century, being an [[earldom]] controlled by the [[Earl of Caithness]]. The name was also used for the [[Diocese of Caithness]] from the 12th century to the 17th century. The diocese was larger than the later county, also including Sutherland. A [[Shires of Scotland|shire]] called Caithness covering the same area as the earldom was created in 1641, after a couple of earlier abortive attempts. Shires gradually eclipsed the old provinces in administrative importance, and also became known as counties.

The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975, when the area became part of the [[Highland (council area)|Highland]] region, which in turn became a single-tier [[Council areas of Scotland|council area]] in 1996. There was a [[Districts of Scotland|local government district]] called Caithness from 1975 to 1996, which was a lower-tier district within the Highland region. The pre-1975 county boundaries are still used for certain functions, being a registration county.

The [[Norn language]] was historically the language of everyday communication for people in Caithness, but was gradually overtaken by Scots and then English. Norn had probably become extinct in Caithness by the 15th century.