High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Orkney (Scottish Gaelic: Arcaibh) also known as the Orkney Islands (sometimes "The Orkneys", a name which locals disparage), is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the coast of Caithness. Orkney comprises approximately 70 islands of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, known as the "Mainland" has an area of 523.25 square kilometres (202.03 sq mi) making it the sixth largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall.