The River Thurso ( gd, Abhainn Theòrsa) has Loch Rumsdale in

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded ...

as its source, about 26 kilometres south and 14 kilometres west of the burgh of

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Gr ...

, Caithness, and about 2 kilometres south of the railway line linking the burghs of Thurso and Wick with

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. Histor ...

. At its source and until it reaches Loch More the river is known also as Strathmore Water. Caithness is in 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 ...

area of

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 ...

. From Loch Rumsdale the river flows generally east/southeast across about 4 kilometres until it is joined by Glutt Water, and then generally northeast across about 7 kilometres until it enters the southern end of Loch More. On the loch's eastern side, towards its northern end, the river flows almost immediately into the western end of

Loch Beg ''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 spellin ...

. Then from Loch Beg's eastern end the river flows east/northeast across about 6 kilometres until it is joined by Little River. From Little River the River Thurso flows generally northward across about 19 kilometres until it reaches its mouth in

Thurso Bay Thurso Bay, known also as Scrabster Bay, is a bay of Atlantic water between the points of Clairdon Head and Holborn Head on the north coast of Caithness, Scotland. The bay receives fresh water from the River Thurso and the Wolf Burn. The rive ...

and 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 ...

. On its way it passes through the village of

Halkirk Halkirk ( gd, Hàcraig) is a village on the River Thurso in Caithness, in the Highland council area of Scotland. From Halkirk the B874 road runs towards Thurso in the north and towards Georgemas in the east. The village is within the parish of H ...

, about 9 kilometres south of the burgh of Thurso, and through the burgh itself, which fronts the bay. The river is bridged twice by railways, three times by highways and twice by footways (the third footbridge was recently destroyed by the river during severe flooding). About 4 kilometres south of Thurso burgh the river is bridged by the rail link between the burghs of Wick and Thurso. About 6 kilometres further south it is bridged by the rail link connecting both burghs with Inverness. The highways cross the river in the burgh of Thurso, in Halkirk, and at

Westerdale Westerdale is a village, civil parish and dale within the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. The Esk Valley Walk runs through part of the village. The village is at the confluence of three streams (Esklets) which combine as ...

, which is about 16 kilometres south of the burgh. The three footway crossings were within the burgh of Thurso.

References

Thurso {{Scotland-river-stub