Sanday Island and the North Sea, Scotland

© Jim Richardson/Getty Images

Sanday Island and the North Sea, Scotland

Scotland’s Orkney Islands—or simply Orkney as the locals call the chain of islands—sit in the windswept waters of the North Sea. Sanday is one of the 20 inhabited islands of this 70-island archipelago. Tides and winds constantly batter the shore, gradually changing the coastline. Sandy beaches can extend inland or the shore can be eroded and washed away to the sea. Of course, it might take decades or longer for these changes to become noticeable. In the meantime, the sheep that graze the fields of Sanday probably don’t mind, just as long as there’s grass to nibble.