KINCARDINE AND DEESIDE

district, Grampian region, northeastern Scotland, created by the reorganization of 1975; it includes the former county of Kincardine and part of the former county of Aberdeen. It stretches from the east coast to reach the Grampians and the southern side of the Cairngorms in the west at heights between 3,000 and 4,000 feet (915 and 1,220 m). The district is wild and mountainous. The Grampians present a steep scarp face to the south and a more gradual slope northward to the River Dee, which runs from west to east through the district. South of The Grampians lies the Howe (hollow) of the Mearns, a sheltered, fertile agricultural vale that is part of Strathmore Valley. Stonehaven replaced Kincardine as the county seat in the 17th century and has continued since 1975 as seat of the district authority. Agriculture is the chief occupation in the fertile mountain valleys and in the Howe of the Mearns. There is much permanent pasture for dairy and beef cattle, and sheep are important on the higher ground. Fishing has declined, and the small fishing villages have turned to tourism; Stonehaven combines both. Manufacturing industries are few. Considerable depopulation of both rural and urban areas has occurred, necessitating the development of new light industries and tourism in an attempt to halt the process. Balmoral, the Scottish Highland residence of the British royal family, is in the district. Area 984 square miles (2,548 square km). Pop. (1991 prelim.) 52,625.