Machars (Celt. machair, ` a plain '), one of the three districts of Wigtownshire, being the broad-based, triangular peninsula between Wigtown and Luce Bays. It has ill-defined boundaries, but it may be viewed either as comprehending the parishes of Whithorn, Glasserton, Sorbie, Kirkinner, and most of Mochrum, amounting to 100 square miles, or as comprehending also the rest of Mochrum and parts of Old -Luce, Kirkcowan, and Penninghame, amounting, with these additions, to nearly 150 square miles. Its surface, as implied in its name, is prevailingly low and flat, yet has considerable diversities, and will be noticed in our article on Wigtownshire.
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