Place:West Lothian (council area), Scotland

Since West Lothian Council Area was only created in 1996, it is most likely that, for genealogical purposes, little reference will be made to it in the near future [written 2013]. Refer to the county of West Lothian and its subsidiary places.

Note: The parishes of Kirknewton or East Calder, West Calder and Mid Calder, which were originally in the County of Midlothian were transferred to the West Lothian District of Lothian Region in 1975 and remained in the West Lothian Council Area at its formation in 1996. The Parish of Dalmeny was removed from West Lothian and transferred to the City of Edinburgh at the same time. The Parish of Bo'ness (or Borrowstounness) on the northwest corner of West Lothian was transferred to the new Council Area of Falkirk.

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

West Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county, which was known as Linlithgowshire, was bounded geographically by the Avon to the west and the Almond to the east. The modern council area occupies a larger area than the historic county. It was reshaped following local government reforms in the late 20th century: some areas in the west were transferred to Falkirk; some areas in the east were transferred to Edinburgh; and some areas that had formerly been part of in Midlothian were added.

West Lothian lies on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and is predominantly rural, though there were extensive coal, iron, and shale oil mining operations in the 19th and 20th centuries. These created distinctive red-spoil heaps (locally known as "bings") throughout the council area. The old county town was the royal burgh of Linlithgow, but the largest town (and the second largest town in the Lothian region after Edinburgh) is now Livingston. Other large towns in the county include Bathgate (a town with medieval origins that developed extensively during the industrial revolution) and the historic mining settlements of Armadale, Fauldhouse, Whitburn, West Calder, Uphall, and Broxburn.