Stirlingshire (126), a midland county of Scotland, stretching E. and
W. from Dumbarton (W.) to the Forth (E.); between Lanark (S.) and Perth
(N.) it forms the borderland between the Lowlands and the Highlands; Loch
Lomond skirts the western border, and on the northern Loch Katrine,
stretching into Perthshire; Ben Lomond and lesser heights rise in the
NW.; main streams are the Avon, Carron, Bannock, &c.; between Alloa and
Stirling stretches the fertile and well-cultivated plain, "The Carse of
Stirling"; in the W. lies a portion of the great western coal-field, from
which coal and iron-stone are largely extracted; principal towns are
Stirling (
q. v.), Falkirk, and Kilsyth; interesting remains of
Antoninus' Wall, from Forth to Clyde, still exist; within its borders
were fought the battles of Bannockburn, Sauchieburn, Stirling Bridge,
Falkirk, &c.