The Firth of Forth () is the

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 environm ...

, or

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 ''f ...

, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets 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 ...

with

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

on the north coast and Lothian on the south.

Name

''Firth'' is a cognate of ''

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, Icel ...

'', a Norse word meaning a narrow inlet. ''Forth'' stems from the name of the river; this is ''*Vo-rit-ia'' (slow running) in

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celt ...

, yielding '' Foirthe'' in Old Gaelic and '' Gweryd'' in Welsh. It was known as ''Bodotria'' in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

times. In the Norse sagas it was known as the ''Myrkvifiörd''. An early

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

name is ''Merin Iodeo'', or the "Sea of Iudeu".

Geography and economy

Geologically, the Firth of Forth is a

, formed by the Forth

Glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

in the last glacial period. The

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

for the Firth of Forth covers a wide geographic area including places as far from the shore as Ben Lomond,

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...

, Harthill, Penicuik and the edges of Gleneagles Golf Course. Many towns line the shores, as well as the

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewabl ...

complexes at Grangemouth, commercial docks at

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

, former oil rig construction yards at Methil, the

ship breaking Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extractio ...

facility at Inverkeithing and the former naval dockyard at Rosyth, along with numerous other industrial areas, including the Forth Bridgehead area, encompassing Rosyth, Inverkeithing and the southern edge of

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. Acco ...

, Burntisland,

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 ...

, Bo'ness and

Leven Leven may refer to: People * Leven (name), list of people with the name Nobility * Earl of Leven a title in the Peerage of Scotland Placenames * Leven, Fife, a town in Scotland * Leven, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England * Leven st ...

The Firth of Forth and its bridges (geograph 5831088)

The firth is bridged in two places. The Kincardine Bridge and the

Clackmannanshire Bridge The Clackmannanshire Bridge is a road bridge over the Firth of Forth in Scotland which opened to traffic on 19 November 2008. Prior to 1 October 2008 the bridge was referred to as the upper Forth crossing while the name was chosen. Background T ...

cross it at Kincardine, while further east the Forth Bridge, the Forth Road Bridge and 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 ...

cross from

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 ...

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 n ...

. The Romans reportedly made a bridge of around 900 boats, probably at South Queensferry. From 1964 to 1982, a tunnel existed under the Firth of Forth, dug by coal miners to link the Kinneil colliery on the south side of the Forth with the Valleyfield colliery on the north side. This is shown in the 1968 educational film ''Forth – Powerhouse for Industry''. The shafts leading into the tunnel were filled and capped with concrete when the tunnel was closed, and it is believed to have filled with water or collapsed in places. Portobello Solent Express1 2007-07-28-cropped

Portobello Solent Express1 2007-07-28-cropped

In July 2007, a

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull, or air cushion, ...

passenger service completed a two-week trial between Portobello,

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 ...

and Kirkcaldy, Fife. The trial of the service (marketed as "Forthfast") was hailed as a major operational success, with an average passenger load of 85 percent. It was estimated the service would decrease congestion for commuters on the Forth road and rail bridges by carrying about 870,000 passengers each year. Despite its initial success, the project was cancelled in December, 2011. The inner firth, located between the Kincardine and Forth bridges, has lost about half of its former intertidal area as a result of land reclamation, partly for agriculture, but mainly for industry and the large ash lagoons built to deposit spoil from the coal-fired

Longannet Power Station Longannet power station was a large coal-fired power station in Fife, and the last coal-fired power station in Scotland. It was capable of co-firing biomass, natural gas and sludge. The station stood on the north bank of the Firth of Forth, ...

near Kincardine. Historic villages line the Fife shoreline; Limekilns, Charlestown and Culross, established in the 6th century, where

Saint Kentigern Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow. Name In Wales and England, this ...

was born.

The firth is important for nature conservation and is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

. The Firth of Forth Islands SPA ( Special Protection Area) is home to more than 90,000 breeding seabirds every year. There is a bird observatory on the Isle of May. A series of sand and gravel banks in the approaches to the firth have since 2014 been designated as a Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area under the name Firth of Forth Banks Complex. The youngest person to swim across the Firth of Forth was 13-year-old Joseph Feeney, who accomplished the feat in 1933. In 2008, a controversial bid to allow oil transfer between ships in the firth was refused by

Forth Ports Forth Ports Limited is a port operator in the United Kingdom based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is owned by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board. History Fort Ports was established in 1967 as the Forth Ports Authority. It became responsible ...

. SPT Marine Services had asked permission to transfer 7.8 million tonnes of crude oil per year between tankers, but the proposals were met with determined opposition from conservation groups. Theforthbridges fromdalmeny

Islands

* Bass Rock *

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 ...

* Cramond *

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 * Inchcolm * Inchgarvie * Inchkeith * Inchmickery with Cow and Calf * Lamb * Isle of May

Shoreline settlements

* Lowest bridging point: Stirling North shore *

Aberdour Aberdour (; Scots: , gd, Obar Dobhair) is a scenic and historic village on the south coast of Fife, Scotland. It is on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, looking south to the island of Inchcolm and its Abbey, and to Leith and Edinburgh b ...

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 Eas ...

Buckhaven Buckhaven is a town on the east coast of Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth between East Wemyss and Methil. Buckhaven is on the Fife Coastal Path, and near to Wemyss Caves and Largo Bay. History The name Buckhaven is probably from the S ...

, Burntisland * Cellardyke, Crail * Culross * Charlestown, Limekilns * Dalgety Bay, Dysart * Earlsferry, East Wemyss, Elie * Inverkeithing * Kincardine,

Kinghorn Kinghorn (; gd, Ceann Gronna) is a town and parish in Fife, Scotland. A seaside resort with two beaches, Kinghorn Beach and Pettycur Bay, plus a fishing port, it stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, opposite Edinburgh. Accor ...

Lower Largo Lower Largo or Seatown of Largo is a village in Fife, Scotland, situated on Largo Bay along the north side of the Firth of Forth. It is east of, and contiguous with, Lundin Links. Largo is an ancient fishing village in the parish of Largo ...

* Methil *

* Pittenweem * Rosyth * St Monans * West Wemyss South shore * Aberlady * Blackness, Bo'ness * Cockenzie, Cramond * Dirleton,

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ...

, Dunglass *

Fisherrow Fisherrow is a harbour and former fishing village at Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, to the east of Portobello and Joppa, and west of the River Esk. History There has been fishing at Fisherrow and Musselburgh since Roman times, and the p ...

* Grangemouth, Granton,

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 twe ...

* Inveresk *

Longniddry Longniddry ( sco, Langniddry, gd, Nuadh-Treabh Fada)
...

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 ...

* Newhaven, North Berwick * Port Edgar, Portobello, Port Seton * Prestonpans * Seafield,

* Whitekirk FirthofForthmap

Places of interest

* Aberlady Bay,

Archerfield Links Archerfield and Archerfield Links are a country house (now hotel) and pair of golf courses in the parish of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. An older golf course, also called Archerfield Links, occupied the area before falling into disuse after ...

* Barns Ness Lighthouse, Bass Rock and St Baldred's chapel, Belhaven,

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blackne ...

Caves of Caiplie The Caves of Caiplie, Caplawchy or Caiplie Coves, known locally as ''The Coves'' are a cave system on the Fife Coastal path between Anstruther and Crail in Scotland. The caves were used by farmers to house livestock and as a doocot, around 17 ...

Cockenzie Power Station Cockenzie power station was a coal-fired power station in East Lothian, Scotland. It was situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, near the town of Cockenzie and Port Seton, east of the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. The station domin ...

, Culross *

Dalmeny House Dalmeny House (pronounced ) is a Gothic revival mansion located in an estate close to Dalmeny on the Firth of Forth, to the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was designed by William Wilkins, and completed in 1817. Dalmeny House is the hom ...

, Dirleton Castle * Gullane Bents * Hopetoun House,

Hopetoun Monument The Hopetoun Monument is a monument in the Garleton Hills, near Camptoun, East Lothian, Scotland. It is tall and is situated on Byres Hill near Haddington. History The monument was erected in 1824 in memory of John Hope, 4th Earl of Hop ...

* John Muir Country Park, John Muir Way * Longniddry Bents *

Musselburgh Racecourse Musselburgh Racecourse is a horse racing venue located in the Millhill area of Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, UK, close to the River Esk. It is the second biggest racecourse in Scotland (the first being Ayr) and is the fourteenth biggest i ...

* North Berwick Golf Club,

North Berwick Law North Berwick Law, sometimes abbreviated to Berwick Law, is a conical hill which rises conspicuously from the surrounding landscape (this is the definition of the Lowland Scots word "law"). It overlooks the East Lothian town of North Berwick, Sc ...

* Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum, Preston Tower, East Lothian * Ravenscraig Castle, Royal Racing Yacht ''Bloodhound'', Royal Yacht ''Britannia'' * Scottish Fisheries Museum,

Scottish Seabird Centre The Scottish Seabird Centre is a marine conservation and education charity, that is supported by a 5 star visitor attraction in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. Opened by HRH Duke of Rothesay in 2000 and funded by the Millennium Commission ...

Seton Sands Seton Sands is a rocky beach to the east of Port Seton, East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated at the western end of Longniddry Bents and is part of the John Muir Way coastal walk. Low tide reveals many rock pools, then a flat sandy bed to th ...

, St. Fillan's Cave, St. Monans Windmill * Tantallon Castle, Torness Nuclear Power Station * Waterston House * Yellowcraigs

References

External links

Isle of May bird observatory''Forthfast'' experimental hovercraft service, 16–28 July 2007Inchcolm Virtual Tour
Take a virtual tour around some of the Inchcolm's military defences {{DEFAULTSORT:Firth of Forth Estuaries of Scotland Landforms of Fife

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 ...

Ramsar sites in Scotland Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Edinburgh and West Lothian Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Falkirk and Clackmannan Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Mid and East Lothian Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North East Fife Bodies of water of the North Sea