Flotta is a 2,000 acre island rising no more than 58 metres (190ft) above sea level, hence the name, from the Old Norse for flat.

Flotta has spectacular views – the hills of Hoy, expanse of Scapa Flow, hills of Mainland Orkney, East Burray and South Ronaldsay and looks across the Pentland Firth to the Scottish Mainland.

Until 1914 Flotta was a quiet farming community, but everything changed with the arrival of the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow at the start of World War 1. 1918 saw the mass exodus of Navy personnel and 1939 saw their return. World War 11 left Flotta with good piers and facilities but a declining population.

In 1974 Occidental started construction of an oil terminal linked by 230 km of pipeline to the Piper and Claymore oilfields in the North Sea. The gas flare is the most prominent feature on Flotta today. Many of the workers at the Terminal commute from the mainland on fast launches provided by the terminal operators.

Flotta is also served by a car ferry service between Houton on the Mainland and Lyness on Hoy, so it is one of the most accessible of the smaller islands.