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WIGTONSHIRE, county, forming western division of Galloway, and south-western extremity of Scotland. It marches for 17J miles on the north with Ayrshire, and for 28 on the east with Kirkcudbrightshire, and is bounded all elsewhere by the sea. Its length is 32 miles ; its breadth 29 miles ; its area 512 square miles. It is bisected, to within 6^ miles, by Loch Ryan from the north-north-west and Luce Bay from the south-south-east ; and it includes a large peninsula between the east side of Luce Bay and the west side of Cree river and Wigton Bay. Its western division, including the two peninsulas between Loch Ryan and Luce Bay on the east and the North Channel on the west, is called the Rhinns ; its south-eastern division, comprising the large peninsula east of Luce Bay, is called the Machers ; and all the rest is called the Moors. The coast, except at head of Loch Ryan, at head of Luce Bay, along upper part of Wigton Bay, and at head of some small bays or creeks, is almost continuously bold and rocky, and in many parts cavernous. Chief headlands are Mull of Galloway at southern extremity of the Rhinns, and Burrowhead at southern extremity of the Machers ; and minor headlands are very numerous, but mostly very small. One great harbour is all or most of Loch Ryan ; two or three small harbours are creeks of Wigton Bay ; and a number of small harbours, especially those of Portpatrick, Port-Logan, Port-William, Isle of Whithorn, and Garlieston, indent the lines of rocky coast. The interior exhibits great diversity, but lies aggregately lower than perhaps any other county of Scotland, and possesses small amount of strikkig or picturesque landscape. Most of the Rhinns and the Machers is a continuous assemblage of hillocks and hollows in all varieties of form, feature, and arrangement ; and most of the Moors is bleak plateau, rising north-ward into heights of more than 1000 feet above sea-level. A low plain, measuring about 6| miles by 3, forms the isthmus between Loch Ryan and Luce Bay ; and a considerable extent of low level land lies along the upper part of Wigton Bay and lower part of Cree river. The largest streams, besides the Cree, are the Bladenoch and the Luce ; and the chief lakes are Castle-Kennedy, Mochrum, and Dowalton. The rocks have small economical value. Agriculture on the low lands in the south-east has high celebrity ; in other parts also is skilful ; in the Moors is notable for breeds of black cattle and sheep. The manufactures are aggregately trivial ; and the commerce is ruled by the products and wants of agriculture. The only town with more than 5000 inhabitants is Stranraer; the only one with more than 2000, Newton-Stewart ; the only ones with more than 1000, Wigton and Whithorn ; the only villages with more than 300, Glenluce, Port-William, Kirkcowan, Garlieston, Portpatrick, Drumore, Isle of Whithorn, Kirkcolm, and New Luce. The territory belonged to the Caledonian Novantes, was included by the Romans in their province of Valentia, became part of the Saxon Northumbria, passed to the Irish Cruithne under the petty kings of Galloway, and was constituted a county by either David li. or Alexander ill. ; and it retains numerous monuments of both the ancient and the mediaeval times. Real property in 1880-81, 268,434. Pop. in 1871, 38,830; in 1881, 38,602.