The Faroe Islands are situated in the North Atlantic some 430km southeast of Iceland, 600km west of Norway and 300km northwest of Scotland. They are in the same time zone as the UK. The distance to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, with which the Faroes have constitutional links, is about 1,300km. There are 18 islands of which 17 are inhabited. The Islands are of volcanic origin and part of the North Atlantic basalt region stretching from Ireland to Greenland. The Ice Age glaciers formed an archipelago of mountains, deep valleys and narrow fiords and straits. The basalt covers older geological strata which may contain oil and gas. There are no woods, but plenty of grass. A mere 6% of the land is under cultivation while the rest is reserved for the grazing of 70,000 sheep and some cattle and horses. Birds are plentiful, especially sea-birds, but other animal life is sparse. The sea around the Faroe Islands is influenced by the meeting of the warm Gulf Stream and cold northern currents rich in nutritional matter. This guarantees rather stable ocean temperatures, between 5° and 10°C, favouring fish and animal life. The islands are a self-governing community within the Kingdom of Denmark.