council area and historic county of eastern Scotland. It projects shoulderlike eastward into the North Sea and encompasses coastal lowlands in the north and east and part of the Grampian Mountains in the west.

The council area and the historic county occupy somewhat different areas. The city of Aberdeen is part of the historic county of Aberdeenshire but constitutes an independent council area that forms an enclave within the council area of Aberdeenshire. The rest of the historic county lies within the council area of the same name, which also incorporates the entire historic county of Kincardineshire and the northeastern portion of the historic county of Banffshire.

Britannica Editors. "Aberdeenshire". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Apr. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/place/Aberdeenshire. Accessed 20 August 2026.