Argyll and Bute, council area, western Scotland, extending from the southwestern Grampian Mountains into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and North Channel in ragged peninsulas indented and separated by deepwater lochs (sea inlets). Freshwater lochs (lakes) dot the inland areas. It includes many islands of the Inner Hebrides—notably Mull, Islay, and Jura. The council area incorporates most of the historic county of Argyllshire, the islands of Bute and Inchmarnock in the historic county of Buteshire, and the western portion of Dunbartonshire.
The area is part of the wet, deeply dissected northwest Highlands, whose short, vigorous rivers drain westward to the Atlantic Ocean. There is a marked southwest-northeast trend in the structure of the landscape. The mountains, ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 feet (300 to 900 metres) in height, have been eroded by ice and water, forming spectacular scenery. Glacial action has sculpted corries, or hillside hollows, created lakes (Lochs Awe and Lomond) and sea lochs (Lochs Fyne and Long), and left deposits of coarse moraines and boulder clay on lower land. The deeply indented, complex coastline of peninsulas and sea lochs has resulted from postglacial drowning. Coastal Argyll and Bute has a cool, damp climate, while inland conditions are much wetter and colder.
Farming, including sheep and cattle raising, remains important to the economy. Less than 5 percent of the total area is under cultivation, mainly oats and hay for fodder. Crofting (small-scale tenant farming) is widespread in the north. Whisky distilling is important in several places, especially in Campbeltown and on Islay. The estates of the Forestry Commission cover large areas. Industries include the manufacture of chipboard, paper pulp, pit props, and fence posts from local timber. The once-important herring fisheries have declined and have been replaced to some extent by the whitefish. Argyll and Bute includes Finnart, an oil port on Loch Long, and several hydroelectric power stations. Tourism is vital to the economy of Argyll and Bute. Helensburgh, on the River Clyde estuary in the southeast, is a residential suburb of Glasgow and a popular holiday resort. Lochgilphead is the administrative centre. Area 3,110 square miles (8,055 square km). Pop. (2006 est.) 91,390.