major physiographic and cultural division of Scotland, lying northwest of a line drawn from Dumbarton, near the head of the Firth of Clyde on the western coast, to Stonehaven, on the eastern coast. The western offshore islands of the Inner (Inner Hebrides) and Outer Hebrides and Arran and Bute are sometimes included in the division. The northern portion of the Highlands lies within the Highland council area, while the southern portion belongs to the council areas of Argyll and Bute, Stirling, Perth and Kinross, Angus, Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City (Aberdeen), and Moray. Gaelic (Scots Gaelic language) customs and language survive in the Highlands.