Firth is a word in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, predominantly within
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. In the
Northern Isles
The Northern Isles ( sco, Northren Isles; gd, Na h-Eileanan a Tuath; non, Norðreyjar; nrn, Nordøjar) are a pair of archipelagos off the north coast of mainland Scotland, comprising Orkney and Shetland. They are part of Scotland, as are th ...
, it more usually refers to a smaller
inlet
An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea.
Overview
In marine geogra ...
. It is linguistically
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
to ''
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...
'' (both from
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
*''ferþuz''), which has a more constrained sense in English. Bodies of water named "firths" tend to be more common on the Scottish east coast, or in the southwest of the country, although the
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
is an exception to this. The
Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
coast contains numerous estuaries, straits, and inlets of a similar kind, but not called "firth" (e.g.
the Minch
The Minch ( gd, An Cuan Sgitheanach, ', ', '), also called North Minch, is a strait in north-west Scotland, separating the north-west Scottish Highlands, Highlands and the northern Inner Hebrides from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. It ...
and
Loch Torridon
Loch Torridon ( gd, Loch Thoirbheartan) is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland in the Northwest Highlands. The loch was created by glacial processes and is in total around 15 miles (25 km) long. It has two sections: Upper Loch Torridon ...
); instead, these are often called
sea loch
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...
s. Before about 1850, the spelling "Frith" was more common.
A firth is generally the result of
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
glaciation
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
and is very often associated with a large river, where erosion caused by the tidal effects of incoming sea water passing upriver has widened the riverbed into an
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
. Demarcation can be rather vague. The
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
is sometimes thought to include the estuary as far upriver as
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
, but the
Ordnance Survey
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, logo_width = 240px
, logo_caption =
, seal =
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map shows the change from river to firth occurring off
Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...
. In navigation terms, the dredged River Clyde Channel for shipping meets the Firth of Clyde Channel at the
Tail of the Bank
The Tail of the Bank is the name given to the anchorage in the upper Firth of Clyde immediately North of Greenock, between Inverclyde and Argyll and Bute. This area of the Firth gets its name from the deep water immediately to the west of the ...
, where the river crosses a
sandbar
In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body o ...
off
Greenock
Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...
as the estuary widens at the junction to the
Gare Loch
The Gare Loch or Gareloch ( gd, An Gearr Loch) is an open sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland and bears a similar name to the village of Gairloch in the north west Highlands.
The loch is well used for sailing, recreational boating, list of w ...
. Locally, the river can be described as extending even further west to
Gourock
Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a r ...
point.
However, some firths are exceptions. The
Cromarty Firth
The Cromarty Firth (; gd, Caolas Chrombaidh ; literally "kyles /nowiki>straits.html"_;"title="strait.html"_;"title="/nowiki>strait">/nowiki>straits">strait.html"_;"title="/nowiki>strait">/nowiki>straitsof_Cromarty.html" ;"title="strait">/no ...
on the east coast of Scotland, for example, resembles a large
loch
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots and Irish language, Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is Cognate, cognate with the Manx language, Manx lough, Cornish language, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh language, Welsh w ...
with only a relatively small outlet to the sea and the
Solway Firth
The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in ...
and the
Moray Firth
The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...
are more like extremely large bays. The
Pentland Firth
The Pentland Firth ( gd, An Caol Arcach, meaning the Orcadian Strait) is a strait which separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. Despite the name, it is not a firth.
Etymology
The name is presumed to be a corruption ...
is a
strait
A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...
rather than a bay or an inlet.
Scottish firths
Firths on the west coast of Scotland (from north to south)
*
Firth of Lorn
The Firth of Lorn or Lorne ( gd, An Linne Latharnach) is the inlet of the sea between the south-east coast of the Isle of Mull and the mainland of Scotland. It includes a number of islands, and is noted for the variety of wildlife habitats that ...
(northernmost, connects with the
Moray Firth
The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...
via the
**
Great Glen
The Great Glen ( gd, An Gleann Mòr ), also known as Glen Albyn (from the Gaelic "Glen of Scotland" ) or Glen More (from the Gaelic ), is a glen in Scotland running for from Inverness on the edge of Moray Firth, in an approximately straight ...
lochs, the
Caledonian Canal
The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford.
Route
The canal r ...
and
Loch Ness
Loch Ness (; gd, Loch Nis ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for clai ...
at
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
.
**Lochs adjoining the Firth:
Loch Lochy
Loch Lochy (Scottish Gaelic, ''Loch Lòchaidh'') is a large freshwater loch in Lochaber, Highland (council area), Highland, Scotland.With a mean depth of , it is the third-deepest loch of Scotland.
Geography
Located southwest of Loch Ness along ...
,
Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe () is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. The part upstream of Corran is known in Gaelic as (the black pool, originally known as Loch Abar), and downstream as (the salty pool). The name ''Linnhe'' is derived from the Gaelic w ...
,
Loch Leven,
Loch Oich
Loch Oich (; gd, Loch Omhaich) is a freshwater loch in the Highlands of Scotland which forms part of the Caledonian Canal, of which it is the highest point. This narrow loch lies between Loch Ness (to the north-east) and Loch Lochy (to the south- ...
.
**Places:
Oban
Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...
,
Fort William.
**Islands:
Isle of Mull
The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Arg ...
,
Lismore and
Kerrera
Kerrera (; gd, Cearara or ''Cearrara'') is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, close to the town of Oban. In 2016 it had a population of 45, divided into two communities in the north and south of the island.
Geology
The oldest bedrock ...
.
*
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
(continuing from the
River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
estuary)
**
Sea loch
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...
s adjoining the ''Firth of Clyde'':
Gare Loch
The Gare Loch or Gareloch ( gd, An Gearr Loch) is an open sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland and bears a similar name to the village of Gairloch in the north west Highlands.
The loch is well used for sailing, recreational boating, list of w ...
,
Loch Long
Loch Long is a body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Sea Loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end. It measures approximately in length, with a width of between . The loch also has an arm, Loch Goil, on its weste ...
,
Holy Loch
The Holy Loch ( gd, An Loch Sianta/Seunta) is a sea loch, a part of the Cowal peninsula coast of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there afte ...
,
Loch Striven
Loch Striven ( gd, Loch Sroigheann) is a sea loch extending off the Firth of Clyde, and forms part of the Cowal peninsula coast, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
Loch Striven extends off of the Firth of Clyde just north of the Isle of Bute, where ...
,
Loch Riddon
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spell ...
off the
Kyles of Bute
The Kyles of Bute ( gd, Na Caoil Bhòdach) form a narrow sea channel that separates the northern end of the Isle of Bute from the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, on the Scottish mainland. The surrounding hillsides are roughly wooded, and ove ...
,
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne ( gd, Loch Fìne, ; meaning "Loch of the Vine/Wine"), is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound o ...
and
Campbeltown Loch
Campbeltown Loch (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Chille Chiarain) is a small sea loch near the south of the Kintyre Peninsula facing eastwards towards the Firth of Clyde. The town of Campbeltown, from which it takes its name, is located at its head. ...
.
**Places:
Helensburgh
Helensburgh (; gd, Baile Eilidh) is an affluent coastal town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local governm ...
,
Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...
,
Greenock
Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...
,
Gourock
Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a r ...
,
Dunoon
Dunoon (; gd, Dùn Omhain) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in the south of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well ...
,
Rothesay
Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...
,
Wemyss Bay
Wemyss Bay (; ) is a town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in Inverclyde in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is in the traditional county of Renfrewshire. It is adjacent to Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire. The town and villages have always ...
,
Largs
Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic.
A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...
,
Brodick
Brodick ( , gd, Tràigh a' Chaisteil ("Castle Beach") or ''Breadhaig'') is the main village on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It is halfway along the east coast of the island, in Brodick Bay below Goat Fell, the tallest mo ...
,
Ardrossan
Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...
,
Troon
Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport.
Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O Ferrie ...
,
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...
,
Girvan
Girvan ( gd, Inbhir Gharbhain, "mouth of the River Girvan") is a burgh and harbour town in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Girvan is situated on the east coast of the Firth of Clyde, with a population of about 6,450. It lies south of Ayr, ...
and
Campbeltown
Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing ...
. Note that
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
is at the tidal limit of the
River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
, and
Clydebank
Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...
, the
Erskine Bridge
The Erskine Bridge is a multi span cable-stayed box girder bridge spanning the River Clyde in west central Scotland. The bridge connects West Dunbartonshire with Renfrewshire and can be used by all types of motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrian ...
and
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
are on the river estuary as it widens out towards Port Glasgow.
**
Islands
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
:
Bute,
Cumbrae
Great Cumbrae ( sco, Muckle Cumbrae; gd, Cumaradh Mòr; also known as Great Cumbrae Island, Cumbrae or the Isle of Cumbrae) is the larger of the two islands known as The Cumbraes in the lower Firth of Clyde in western Scotland. The island is s ...
,
Arran
**:In
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
, the Firth of Clyde is treated as two bodies, with the landward end being called (; meaning the same as the English), while the area around the south of Arran, Kintyre and Ayrshire/
Galloway
Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway.
A native or i ...
is .
*
Solway Firth
The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in ...
(inlet with the rivers
Eden,
Esk and
Nith).
**The ''Firth'' is off the
Solway Coast
The Solway Coast is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in northern Cumbria, United Kingdom. It incorporates two areas of coastline along the Solway Firth, the first running from just north of the city of Carlisle, at the estuary of ...
.
**
Rough Firth
Rough Firth is an inlet on the northern coast of the Solway Firth in the Stewartry area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The firth lies between Almorness Point and Castlehill Point, and contains Rough Island. The village of Kippford stands ne ...
**Places:
Carlisle, England
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...
on the River Eden,
Annan and
Gretna, both in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
Luce Bay
Luce Bay is a large bay in Wigtownshire in southern Scotland. The bay is 20 miles wide at its mouth and is bounded by the Rhins of Galloway to the west and the Machars to the east. The Scares are rocky islets at the mouth of the bay.
Bombing r ...
,
Wigtown
Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùige) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. I ...
,
St Bees
St Bees is a coastal village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Copeland district of Cumbria, England, on the Irish Sea.
Within the parish is St Bees Head which is the only Heritage Coast between Wales and Scotland and a Site of Special ...
,
Aspatria
Aspatria is a town and civil parish in the non-metropolitan district of Allerdale, and is currently embraced in the Parliamentary constituency of Workington, Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland the town rests on the north side of t ...
Firths on the east coast of Scotland (from north to south)
These are connected to, or form part of, the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
.
*
Dornoch Firth
The Dornoch Firth ( gd, Caolas Dhòrnaich, ) is a firth on the east coast of Highland, in northern Scotland. It forms part of the boundary between Ross and Cromarty, to the south, and Sutherland, to the north. The firth is designated as a nationa ...
(northernmost of the eastern firths)
**Places:
Dornoch
Dornoch (; gd, Dòrnach ; sco, Dornach) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray ...
,
Dornoch Firth Bridge
The Dornoch Firth Bridge is a road bridge over the Dornoch Firth, carrying traffic between Tain and Dornoch.
History
It was built for the Scottish Office. There had been recent substantial improvements of the A9 between Inverness and Tain, inc ...
(road bridge, long),
Bonar Bridge
Bonar Bridge ( gd, Drochaid a' Bhanna, ) is a village on the north bank of the Kyle of Sutherland to the west and the Dornoch Firth to the east in the Parish of Creich in the Highland council area of Scotland.
The Kyle of Sutherland ("the Kyle" ...
,
Kyle of Sutherland
The Kyle of Sutherland ( gd, An Caol Catach) is a river estuary that separates Sutherland from Ross-shire. It flows into the Dornoch Firth at Bonar Bridge, and is fed by the rivers Oykel, Shin, River Cassley and Carron.
The downstream extent o ...
,
Tain
Tain ( Gaelic: ''Baile Dhubhthaich'') is a royal burgh and parish in the County of Ross, in the Highlands of Scotland.
Etymology
The name derives from the nearby River Tain, the name of which comes from an Indo-European root meaning 'flow'. The ...
,
Portmahomack
Portmahomack ( gd, Port Mo Chalmaig; 'Haven of My .e. 'Saint'Colmóc') is a small fishing village in Easter Ross, Scotland. It is situated in the Tarbat Peninsula in the parish of Tarbat. Tarbat Ness Lighthouse is about from the village at t ...
on Tarbat Ness (fishing village facing west to northwest on the east coast).
**Rivers:
Oykel,
Cassley,
Shin
Shin may refer to:
Biology
* The front part of the human leg below the knee
* Shinbone, the tibia, the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates
Names
* Shin (given name) (Katakana: シン, Hiragana: しん), a Japanese ...
and
Carron Carron may refer to:
Rivers
* River Carron, Forth, a river in Central Scotland
* River Carron, Wester Ross
* River Carron, Sutherland
* Carron River (Queensland), a river in Australia
* Carron Water, Aberdeenshire, a river that flows into the Nort ...
**Headland: Tarbat Ness.
*
Cromarty Firth
The Cromarty Firth (; gd, Caolas Chrombaidh ; literally "kyles /nowiki>straits.html"_;"title="strait.html"_;"title="/nowiki>strait">/nowiki>straits">strait.html"_;"title="/nowiki>strait">/nowiki>straitsof_Cromarty.html" ;"title="strait">/no ...
(loch-type firth with relatively narrow opening to the sea). The Firth runs out into the
Moray Firth
The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...
.
**Places:
Cromarty
Cromarty (; gd, Cromba, ) is a town, civil parish and former royal burgh in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland. Situated at the tip of the Black Isle on the southern shore of the mouth of Cromarty Firth, it is seaward from In ...
,
Dingwall
Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cast ...
,
Invergordon
Invergordon (; gd, Inbhir Ghòrdain or ) is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland (council area), Highland, Scotland. It lies in the parish of Rosskeen.
History
The town built up around the harbour which was establish ...
.
**Rivers: Conon, Orrin, Rusdale, Glass, Alness.
*
Moray Firth
The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...
and
Beauly Firth
The Beauly Firth ( gd, Linne Fharair) is a firth in northern Scotland. It is the outlet for both the River Beauly and River Ness. The Beauly Firth is bounded at its western end by the town of Beauly and its eastern by Inverness, where it emptie ...
(a loch-type firth) connected with the Firth of
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
. The Firth of Inverness is rarely identified on modern maps, but forms a connection via the River Ness,
Loch Ness
Loch Ness (; gd, Loch Nis ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for clai ...
and the other
loch
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots and Irish language, Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is Cognate, cognate with the Manx language, Manx lough, Cornish language, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh language, Welsh w ...
s of the
Great Glen
The Great Glen ( gd, An Gleann Mòr ), also known as Glen Albyn (from the Gaelic "Glen of Scotland" ) or Glen More (from the Gaelic ), is a glen in Scotland running for from Inverness on the edge of Moray Firth, in an approximately straight ...
and stretches of the
Caledonian Canal
The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford.
Route
The canal r ...
with the
Firth of Lorne
The Firth of Lorn or Lorne ( gd, An Linne Latharnach) is the inlet of the sea between the south-east coast of the Isle of Mull and the mainland of Scotland. It includes a number of islands, and is noted for the variety of wildlife habitats that ...
on the west coast of Scotland.
**Places on the ''Moray Firth'': ''Inverness'',
Nairn
Nairn (; gd, Inbhir Narann) is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the tradit ...
,
Fortrose
Fortrose (; gd, A' Chananaich, sco, Chainry) is a town and former royal burgh in Highland, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is on the Moray Firth, about north-east of Inverness. The burgh is a popular location for trying to spot bottlenose dolp ...
,
Fort George.
**Headlands:
Whiteness Head, Chanonry Point, Alturlie Point.
**Places on the ''Beauly Firth'':
Beauly
Beauly ( ; ; gd, A' Mhanachainn) is a village in the Highland area, on the River Beauly, west of Inverness by the Far North railway line. The town is historically within Kilmorack Parish of the Scottish County of Inverness.
The land around Be ...
.
*
Firth of Tay
The Firth of Tay (; gd, Linne Tatha) is a firth on the east coast of Scotland, into which the River Tay (Scotland's largest river in terms of flow) empties. The firth is surrounded by four council areas: Fife, Perth and Kinross, City of Du ...
(estuary of the
River Tay
The River Tay ( gd, Tatha, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing') is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates ...
).
**Places:
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
,
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
,
Monifieth
Monifieth is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is situated on the north bank of the Firth of Tay on the east coast. In 2016, the population of Monifieth was estimated at 8,110, making it the fifth largest ...
,
Tayport
Tayport, also known as Ferry-Port on Craig, is a town and burgh, and parish, in the county of Fife, Scotland, acting as a commuter town for Dundee. The motto of the Burgh is ''Te oportet alte ferri'' ("It is incumbent on you to carry yourself ...
,
Newport on Tay
Newport-on-Tay is a small town in the north-east of Fife in Scotland, acting as a commuter suburb for Dundee. The Fife Coastal Path passes through Newport-on-Tay. The area itself is surrounded by views of the two bridges that cross the River Tay ...
,
Newburgh, Fife
Newburgh is a royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, at the south shore of the Firth of Tay. The town has a population of 2,171 (in 2011),Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by National Records of Scot ...
.
**Rivers:
Tay
Tay may refer to:
People and languages
* Tay (name), including lists of people with the given name, surname and nickname
* Tay people, an ethnic group of Vietnam
** Tày language
*Atayal language, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan (ISO 639 ...
,
Earn.
**Headland: Buddon Ness.
**Islands:
Mugdrum Island
Mugdrum Island lies in the Firth of Tay, offshore from the town of Newburgh, Fife, Newburgh, Fife, in the east of Scotland.
Geography
Mugdrum is low-lying and Reedbed, reedy, with the "North Deep" and "South Deep" channels on either side of the ...
*
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.
Name
''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...
(estuary of the
River Forth
The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of th ...
)
**Places:
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...
,
Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...
,
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
,
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
,
Grangemouth
Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk ...
,
Rosyth
Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440.
The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...
,
North Queensferry
North Queensferry is a village in Fife, Scotland, situated on the Firth of Forth where the Forth Bridge, the Forth Road Bridge, and the Queensferry Crossing all meet the Fife coast, some from the centre of Edinburgh. It is the southernmost sett ...
,
South Queensferry
Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is administered by the City of Edinburgh council area. It lies ten miles to the nort ...
,
Musselburgh
Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of .
History
The name Musselburgh is Ol ...
,
Crail
Crail (); gd, Cathair Aile) is a former royal burgh, parish and community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland.
The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018).
Etymology
The name ''C ...
,
Cellardyke
Cellardyke is a village in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The village is to the immediate east of Anstruther (the two effectively being conjoined) and is to the south of Kilrenny.
History
Cellardyke was formerly known as Nether Kilrenny ( S ...
,
Anstruther
Anstruther ( sco, Ainster or Enster ; gd, Ànsruthair) is a small coastal resort town in Fife, Scotland, situated on the north-shore of the Firth of Forth and south-southeast of St Andrews. The town comprises two settlements, Anstruther ...
,
Pittenweem
Pittenweem ( ) is a fishing village and civil parish in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,747.
Etymology
The name derives from Pictish and Scottish Gaelic. "Pit-" represents Pictish ''pett'' 'pl ...
,
St Monans
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
,
Elie
Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh in Fife, and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of Leven. The burgh comprised the linked vi ...
,
Earlsferry
Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh in Fife, and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of Leven. The burgh comprised the linked v ...
,
Longniddry
Longniddry ( sco, Langniddry, gd, Nuadh-Treabh Fada)
...
,
Aberlady
Aberlady ( sco, Aiberleddy, Gaelic: ''Obar Lobhaite'') is a coastal village in the Scottish council area of East Lothian. The village had an estimated population of in .
Etymology
The name ''Aberlady'' has Brittonic origins. The first part of ...
,
Gullane
Gullane ( or ) is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century. The ruins of the Old Church of St. Andrew built in the twelft ...
,
Dirleton
Dirleton is a village and civil parish in East Lothian, Scotland approximately east of Edinburgh on the A198. It contains . Dirleton lies between North Berwick (east), Gullane (west), Fenton Barns (south) and the Yellowcraigs nature reserve, ...
,
North Berwick
North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town
A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on th ...
. It is spanned by the
Queensferry Crossing
The Queensferry Crossing (formerly the Forth Replacement Crossing) is a road bridge in Scotland. It was built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge and carries the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Edinburgh, at South Queensfer ...
, 2,700 m (8,858 ft) long; the
Forth Road Bridge
The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge opened in 1964 and at the time was the longest suspension bridge in the world outside the United States. The bridge spans the Firth of Forth, connecting Edinbur ...
, 2,512 m (8242 ft) long; and the
Forth Bridge
The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...
, 2,498 m (8,196 ft) long.
**Rivers:
Forth
Forth or FORTH may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine
* ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008
* ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw
* Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...
,
River Avon,
Water of Leith
The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing near central Edinburgh, Scotland, and flows into the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth.
Name
The name ''Leith'' may be of Britto ...
,
River Almond,
River Esk,
River Leven
**
Islands
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
:
Bass Rock
The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcan ...
,
Craigleith
Craigleith ( gd, Creag Lìte) is a small island in the Firth of Forth off North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland. Its name comes from the Scottish Gaelic ''Creag Lìte'' meaning "rock of Leith". It is at its highest point.
Geography and geolo ...
,
Eyebroughy
Eyebroughy (or archaically Ibris; NT493859) is a small, rocky islet in the Firth of Forth, 200 m off East Lothian, Scotland.
Location
Eyebroughy sits off the East Lothian coast, to the north northeast of the village of Gullane and west of No ...
,
Fidra
Fidra (archaically Fidrey or Fetheray) is a currently uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, northwest of North Berwick, on the east coast of Scotland. The island is an RSPB Scotland nature reserve.
Geography
Like the other islands near N ...
,
Inchcolm
Inchcolm (from the Scottish Gaelic "Innis Choluim", meaning Columba's Island) is an island in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. It was repeatedly attacked by English raiders during the Wars of Scottish Independence, and was fortified during both Wo ...
,
Inchgarvie
Inchgarvie or Inch Garvie is a small, uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth. On the rocks around the island sit four caissons that make up the foundations of the Forth Bridge.
Inchgarvie's fortifications pre-date the modern period. In the day ...
,
Inchkeith
Inchkeith (from the gd, Innis Cheith) is an island in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, administratively part of the Fife council area.
Inchkeith has had a colourful history as a result of its proximity to Edinburgh and strategic location for u ...
,
Inchmickery
Inchmickery is a small island in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh.
Its name comes from the Scottish Gaelic, ''Innis nam Biocaire'', meaning ''Isle of the Vicars'', implying that there may have been an old ecclesi ...
,
Isle of May
The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately off the coast of mainland Scotland. It is about long and wide. The island is owned and managed by NatureScot as a national nature reserve. There are now no ...
,
Lamb
Lamb or The Lamb may refer to:
* A young sheep
* Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep
Arts and media Film, television, and theatre
* ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut
* ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...
Firths on the north coast of Scotland
*The
Pentland Firth
The Pentland Firth ( gd, An Caol Arcach, meaning the Orcadian Strait) is a strait which separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. Despite the name, it is not a firth.
Etymology
The name is presumed to be a corruption ...
. This is a strait between the Scottish mainland and the
Orkney Islands
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
, and forms a link between the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
and
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
.
**Places:
John o' Groats,
Canisbay
Canisbay is a rural hamlet located about southwest of Huna and southwest of John o' Groats in Caithness, Scottish Highlands, and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. It lies on the A836 coast road, which bypasses the hamlet to the n ...
,
Gills Bay
Gills Bay, which is situated about west of John o' Groats with the community of Gills close by, has one of the longest stretches of low-lying rock coast on the northern shores of Caithness. Its main features are a small harbour and the pier used ...
,
Rattar (all Caithness)
**Headlands:
Brims Ness,
Brough Ness,
Duncansby Head
Duncansby Head ( gd, Ceann Dhunngain or Dùn Gasbaith) is the most northeasterly part of both the Scottish and British mainlands, slightly northeast of John o' Groats. It lies approximately 20 km (12 mi) east-southeast of Dunnet Hea ...
,
Dunnet Head
Dunnet Head ( gd, Ceann Dùnaid) is a peninsula in Caithness, on the north coast of Scotland. Dunnet Head includes the most northerly point of both mainland Scotland and the island of Great Britain.
Geography
The point, also known as Easter ...
**Islands:
Hoy
Hoy ( sco, Hoy; from Norse , meaning "high island") is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring – the second largest in the archipelago, after Mainland. A natural causeway, ''the Ayre'', links the island to the smaller South Walls; the tw ...
,
Pentland Skerries
The Pentland Skerries (Old Norse: ''Pettlandssker'')Pedersen, Roy (January 1992) ''Orkneyjar ok Katanes'' (map, Inverness, Nevis Print) are a group of four uninhabited islands lying in the Pentland Firth, northeast of Duncansby Head and south of So ...
,
Swona,
South Ronaldsay
South Ronaldsay (, also , sco, Sooth Ronalshee) is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. It is linked to the Orkney Mainland by the Churchill Barriers, running via Burray, Glimps Holm and Lamb Holm.
Name
Along with North R ...
,
South Walls
South Walls ( sco, Sooth Waas), often referred to as Walls, is an inhabited island adjacent to Hoy in Orkney, Scotland. The name is a corruption of "Sooth Was", which means the "southern voes" – as with Kirkwall, it was assumed that it was a mi ...
(all generally considered to be part of
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
);
Stroma
Firths in the Northern Isles
The Northern Isles were part of Norway until the 15th century, and retain many Norse names. In Shetland in particular, "firth" can refer to smaller inlets, although geo, voe and wick are as common. In Orkney, "wick" is common.
*
Orkney Islands
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
** Bay of Firth (
Firth, Orkney
Firth (''Fjörðr''Pedersen, Roy (January 1992) ''Orkneyjar ok Katanes'' (map, Inverness, Nevis Print) meaning a firth or fjord) is a civil parish mainly on Mainland, Orkney. The islands of Damsay and Holm of Grimbister, which lie in the Bay ...
)
**
North Ronaldsay
North Ronaldsay (, also , sco, North Ronalshee) is the northernmost island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. With an area of , it is the fourteenth-largest.Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 334 It is mentioned in the '' Orkneyinga saga''; in modern ...
Firth
**
Stronsay
Stronsay () is an island in Orkney, Scotland. It is known as Orkney's 'Island of Bays', owing to an irregular shape with miles of coastline, with three large bays separated by two isthmuses: St Catherine's Bay to the west, the Bay of Holland to the ...
Firth
**
Westray
Westray (, sco, Westree) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a usual resident population of just under 600 people. Its main village is Pierowall, with a heritage centre, the 15th-century Lady Kirk church and pedestrian ferry servic ...
Firth
** Wide Firth
*
Shetland Islands
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the no ...
(Mainland)
** Lax Firth (
Laxfirth) & Cat Firth near
Nesting &
Whiteness
** Collafirth/Colla Firth (two places of this name)
** Firths Voe,
Firth
Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more usually refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to ''fj ...
** Gon Firth
** Olna Firth
** Olnes Firth
** Quey Firth
** Unie Firth
** Ura Firth
** Burra Firth/Burrafirth (a number of Shetland places with this name)
** Effirth
* Shetland
North Isles
The North Isles are the northern islands of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The main islands in the group are Yell, Unst and Fetlar. Sometimes the islands in Yell Sound are included in this group.
Importance
They are a significant group, ...
:
Yell
A yell is a loud vocalization; see screaming.
Yell may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Yell, Shetland, one of the North Isles of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland
* Yell Sound, Shetland, Scotland
United States
* Yell, Tennessee, an unin ...
,
Unst
Unst (; sco, Unst; nrn, Ønst) is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of .
Unst ...
** Whale Firth
** Burrafirth
Other similar waters in Scotland
In the
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
, ''linne'' is used to refer to most of the firths above; it is also applied to the
Sound of Sleat
The Sound of Sleat is a narrow sea channel off the western coast of Scotland. It divides the Sleat peninsula on the south-east side of the Isle of Skye from Morar, Knoydart and Glenelg on the Scottish mainland.
The Sound extends in a south-sout ...
,
Crowlin Sound,
Cuillin Sound,
Sound of Jura
The Sound of Jura () is a strait in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is one of the several Sounds of Scotland.
It is to the east of the island of Jura and to the west of Knapdale, part of a peninsula of the Scottish mainland. The Crinan Canal's ...
,
Sound of Raasay
The Sound of Raasay ( gd, Linne Ratharsair) is the sound between the islands of Raasay and Skye.
See also
* Inner Sound, Scotland
* Isle of Skye
* Loch Kishorn
* Mealt Waterfall
* Quiraing
References
External links and references
One ...
, and part of
Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe () is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. The part upstream of Corran is known in Gaelic as (the black pool, originally known as Loch Abar), and downstream as (the salty pool). The name ''Linnhe'' is derived from the Gaelic w ...
.
The following is a selection of other bodies of water in Scotland which are similar to various firths, but which are not termed such –
*West coast
**
Loch Broom
Loch Broom ( gd, Lochbraon, "loch of rain showers") is a sea loch located in northwestern Ross and Cromarty, in the former parish of Lochbroom, on the west coast of Scotland. The small town of Ullapool lies on the eastern shore of the loch.
L ...
(fjord),
Loch Eriboll
__NOTOC__
Loch Eriboll (Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Euraboil") is a long sea loch on the north coast of Scotland, which has been used for centuries as a deep water anchorage as it is safe from the often stormy seas of Cape Wrath and the Pentland Firt ...
(fjord),
Loch Hourn
Loch Hourn ( gd, Loch Shubhairne) is a sea loch which separates the peninsulas of Glenelg to the north and Knoydart to the south, on the west coast of Scotland.
Geography
Loch Hourn runs inland from the Sound of Sleat, opposite the island of Sky ...
(fjord),
Loch Tarbert, Jura
Loch Tarbert is a sea loch on the west coast of Jura, an island in Scotland.
As the name Tarbert suggests, it comes close to cutting the island in half.
References
Sea lochs of Scotland
Lochs of Argyll and Bute
Loch
''Loch'' () is ...
(fjord),
Loch Torridon
Loch Torridon ( gd, Loch Thoirbheartan) is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland in the Northwest Highlands. The loch was created by glacial processes and is in total around 15 miles (25 km) long. It has two sections: Upper Loch Torridon ...
(fjord);
Loch Sween
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...
, a fjord,
The Minch
The Minch ( gd, An Cuan Sgitheanach, ', ', '), also called North Minch, is a strait in north-west Scotland, separating the north-west Scottish Highlands, Highlands and the northern Inner Hebrides from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. It ...
(Strait, "Skotlandsfjörð" ("Scotland's
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...
/firth") in
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
.
[Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) ''Orkneyinga Saga''. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). ])
*East coast
**
Eden Mouth (estuary, near
St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
);
Findhorn Bay
Findhorn ( gd, Inbhir Èir or ''Inbhir Èireann'') is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Kinloss, and about 5 ...
,
Montrose Basin
Montrose Basin is a nearly circular tidal basin which makes up part of the estuary of the River South Esk and which sits just inland of the town of Montrose in Angus on the east coast of Scotland. The basin is protected by a number of designati ...
(estuary/lagoon with narrow entrance);
Tweed mouth (estuary, very near Scottish border)
Likewise, in the
Northern Isles
The Northern Isles ( sco, Northren Isles; gd, Na h-Eileanan a Tuath; non, Norðreyjar; nrn, Nordøjar) are a pair of archipelagos off the north coast of mainland Scotland, comprising Orkney and Shetland. They are part of Scotland, as are th ...
, the words "firth" and "sound" are often used arbitrarily or interchangeably.
Bluemull Sound
Bluemull Sound is the strait between Unst and Yell in Shetland's North Isles. A ferry service crosses it regularly. Cullivoe is on the Yell side, and the island of Linga
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), somet ...
for example, is very similar to some of the firths in the
Shetland Islands
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the no ...
.
English firths
*
Solway Firth
The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in ...
(inlet with the rivers
Eden,
Esk and
Nith).
**The ''Firth'' is off the
Solway Coast
The Solway Coast is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in northern Cumbria, United Kingdom. It incorporates two areas of coastline along the Solway Firth, the first running from just north of the city of Carlisle, at the estuary of ...
.
**Places:
Carlisle, England
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...
on the River Eden,
Annan and
Gretna, both in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
Luce Bay
Luce Bay is a large bay in Wigtownshire in southern Scotland. The bay is 20 miles wide at its mouth and is bounded by the Rhins of Galloway to the west and the Machars to the east. The Scares are rocky islets at the mouth of the bay.
Bombing r ...
,
Wigtown
Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùige) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. I ...
,
St Bees
St Bees is a coastal village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Copeland district of Cumbria, England, on the Irish Sea.
Within the parish is St Bees Head which is the only Heritage Coast between Wales and Scotland and a Site of Special ...
,
Aspatria
Aspatria is a town and civil parish in the non-metropolitan district of Allerdale, and is currently embraced in the Parliamentary constituency of Workington, Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland the town rests on the north side of t ...
Firths outside Britain
*
Flensburg Firth
Flensburg Firth or Flensborg Fjord (german: Flensburger Förde; da, Flensborg Fjord) is the westernmost inlet of the Baltic Sea. It forms part of the border between Germany to the south and Denmark to the north, on the eastern side of Schleswig ...
, an inlet forming part of the border between
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
and Germany
*
Kiel Firth, an inlet between
Danish Wold
The Danish Wahld (, ) is a peninsula in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located between Eckernförde Bay in the north and Kiel Fjord in the south. The ''Amt (country subdivision), Amt'' of "Dänischer Wohld (Amt), Dänischer Wohld" in the dis ...
and
Wagria
WagriaArnold, Benjamin (1991). ''Princes and territories in medieval Germany'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, p. 156. . (german: Wagrien, ''Waierland'' or ''Wagerland'') is the northeastern part of Holstein in the German state ...
that forms part of
Kiel Bay
The Bay of Kiel or Kiel Bay (, ; ) is a bay in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and the islands of Denmark. It is connected with the Bay of Mecklenburg in the east, the Little Belt in the northwest, ...
*The
Firth of Thames
The Firth of Thames ( mi, Tikapa Moana-o-Hauraki) is a large bay located in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the firth of the rivers Waihou and Piako, the former of which was formerly named the Thames River, and the town o ...
is a bay at the mouth of the
Waihou River
The Waihou River is located in the northern North Island of New Zealand. Its former name, Thames River, was bestowed by Captain James Cook in November 1769, when he explored of the river from the mouth. An older Māori name was "Wai Kahou Roun ...
(formerly named the Thames) in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
*
Firth of Tay
The Firth of Tay (; gd, Linne Tatha) is a firth on the east coast of Scotland, into which the River Tay (Scotland's largest river in terms of flow) empties. The firth is surrounded by four council areas: Fife, Perth and Kinross, City of Du ...
,
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
. Named in conjunction with neighbouring
Dundee Island
Dundee Island is an ice-covered island lying east of the northeastern tip of Antarctic Peninsula and south of Joinville Island. It is named after the city of Dundee in Scotland.
The Petrel Base is a scientific station in Antarctica belonging t ...
, as the original Firth of Tay adjoins Dundee.
See also
*
List of waterways
This is a list of waterways, defined as navigable rivers, canals, estuaries, lakes, or firths. In practice, and depending on the language, the term "waterway" covers maritime or inland transport routes, as suggested by "way". Wherever a free- ...
*
Loch
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots and Irish language, Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is Cognate, cognate with the Manx language, Manx lough, Cornish language, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh language, Welsh w ...
*
Fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...
*
Ria
A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea.
Definitions
Typically rias have a Drainage system (geomorphology)#Dendritic dr ...
References
{{Authority control
Coastal and oceanic landforms
Firths
Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more usually refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to ''fj ...
Scottish words and phrases