the western part of the Southern Uplands. This area is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; the Scottish Borders to the northeast; the English county of Cumbria, the Solway Firth, and the Irish Sea to the south; and the North Channel to the west. The main town and administrative center is Dumfries, while Stranraer, located 76 miles (122 km) to the west on the North Channel coast, is the second largest town.
Dumfries and Galloway includes the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, and Wigtownshire, which are collectively called Galloway. These three counties were merged in 1975 to create a single region with four districts. The districts were removed in 1996, and since then, Dumfries and Galloway has operated as a unitary local authority. For official purposes, the area is divided into three regions: Dumfries, Wigtown, and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, which roughly match the three historic counties.
