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Information about Firth Of Forth

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The Firth of Forth from Calton Hill
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The Forth Bridges cross the Firth
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Satellite photo of the Firth and the surrounding area
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Map of the Firth


Firth of Forth (Scottish Gaelic: Linne Foirthe) is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh, and East Lothian to the south. The river is tidal as far inland as Stirling, but generally it is considered that the inland extent of the firth ends at the Kincardine Bridge. There are a number of towns which line the shores, as well as the petrochemical complexes at Grangemouth, the commercial docks at Leith, oilrig construction yards at Methil, the ship-breaking facility at Inverkeithing and the naval dockyard at Rosyth, with numerous other industrial areas including the Forth Bridgehead area, Burntisland, Kirkcaldy, Bo'ness and Leven.

The Kincardine Bridge and the famous Forth Road Bridge and Forth Bridge carry traffic across the Firth. A third crossing, the Upper Forth Crossing, to be located next to the Kincardine Bridge is under construction and is expected to open in 2008. Additionally, in July 2007, a hovercraft passenger service completed a two week trial between Portobello, Edinburgh 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%. If a permanent service comes into operation, it could cut congestion for commuters on the Forth road and rail bridges by carrying about 470,000 passengers a year.

The inner Firth, i.e. between the Kincardine and Forth bridges, has lost about half of its former intertidal area as a result of land being reclaimed, partly for agriculture, but mainly for industry and the large ash lagoons built to deposit the spoil from the coal fired Longannet Power Station near Kincardine.

The Firth is important for nature conservation. The Firth of Forth Islands SPA (Special Protection Area) is host to over 90,000 breeding seabirds every year. There is a bird observatory on the Isle of May.

Firth of Forth islands Cities, towns and villages on the shoreline Places of interest along the Firth

References in pop culture

External links

Scottish Gaelic}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Scotland
Regulated by: Bòrd na Gàidhlig
Language codes
ISO 639-1: gd
ISO 639-2: gla
ISO 639-3: gla

Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig
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estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.[1] Estuaries are often associated with high rates of biological productivity. An estuary is where the river meets the sea.
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Firth is the Scots word used to denote various coastal waters in Scotland. It is usually a large sea bay, which may be part of an estuary, or just an inlet, or even a strait.
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Motto
Nemo me impune lacessit   (Latin)
"No one provokes me with impunity"
"Cha togar m'fhearg gun dioladh"   
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River Forth (Uisge For and Abhainn Dhubh (meaning "black river") in Gaelic), 47 km (29 miles) long, is the major river draining the eastern part of the central belt of Scotland.
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The North Sea is marginal, epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European continental shelf between Norway and Denmark in the east, Scotland and England in the west, and Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France in the south.
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West Lothian Council
Lodainn an Iar


Logo Coat of arms
Location

Geography

Area Ranked 20th
 - Total 427 km²
 - % Water ?
Admin HQ Livingston
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Edinburgh
Gaelic - Dùn Èideann
Scots - Edinburgh[1]
Auld Reekie, Athens of the North


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East Lothian
Lodainn an Ear

Location

Geography

Area Ranked 18th
 - Total 679 km²
 - % Water ?
Admin HQ Haddington
GB-ELN
ONS code 00QM
Demographics

Population Ranked 21st
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Stirling
Gaelic - Sruighlea
Scots - Streivling

Stirling City Centre

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Kincardine Bridge is a road bridge crossing the Firth of Forth from Falkirk council area to Kincardine-on-Forth, Fife, Scotland.

History

The bridge was constructed between 1932 and 1936, designed by Donald Watson.
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Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of petroleum (hydrocarbon) origin. (Etymologically, the name is incorrect, as the Greek root petro- means "rock"; the correct term is oleochemicals, from the Greek root oleo-, meaning "oil".
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Grangemouth

Map of Grangemouth from 1945

Area 0 sq mi (  km)
Population 17,366[1]
 - Density
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dock (from Dutch 'dok') is a man-made feature involved in the handling of boats or ships. However the exact meaning varies between different variants of the English language.
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Leith (Scottish Gaelic: Lìte) is a district in the north of the city of Edinburgh at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is the port of Edinburgh, Scotland.
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oil platform is a large structure used to house workers and machinery needed to drill and then produce oil and natural gas wells in the ocean. Depending on the circumstances, the platform may be attached to the ocean floor, consist of an artificial island, or be floating.
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Methil (Gaelic:Maothcoille) is a town in the East of Fife, Scotland, situated near the mouth of the River Leven on the Firth of Forth between Buckhaven and Leven. Methil has an ancient history going back to the 12th century, and the town became a barony in 1572.
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Inverkeithing is town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, located on the Firth of Forth. The port town was given burgh status by King David I of Scotland (1124-53) in the 12th century and is situated about 9 miles (15 km) north from Edinburgh Airport and about 4 miles form
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A naval dockyard is a dockyard that primarily serves a navy.

See also

  • Military base
  • Royal Navy Dockyards
  • Naval Dockyard (Bombay)

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Rosyth (pronounced Ross-sythe) (Scottish Gaelic: Ros Saidhe or Ros Saoithe) is a town located on the Firth of Forth on Scotland's east coast, a mile (1.6 km) south of the centre of Dunfermline, almost continuous with it and neighboring Inverkeithing.
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Burntisland is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland on the Firth of Forth. It is known locally for its sandy blue flag beach, the 15th century Rossend Castle, and its traditional summer fair and Highland games day.
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Kirkcaldy
Gaelic - Cathair Challdainn
Scots - Kirkcaudy or The Lang Toun


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Bo'ness (Borrowstounness)
Gaelic - Ceann Fhail
Scots - Bo'ness (Burghstounness)


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Leven
Scots - Leven


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Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge, built in 1964, spans the Firth of Forth, connecting the capital city Edinburgh at South Queensferry to Fife at North Queensferry.
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Forth Bridge is a cantilever, railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, to the east of the Forth Road Bridge, and 14 km (9 miles) west of central Edinburgh. It is often called the "Forth Rail Bridge" to distinguish it from the Forth Road Bridge.
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This article or section contains information about a bridge currently under construction.
It may contain information of a speculative nature, and the content may change as construction progresses or new information becomes available.
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Hovercraft, or Air-Cushion Vehicle (ACV), is an amphibious vehicle or craft, designed to travel over any sufficiently smooth surface - land or water - supported by a cushion of slowly moving, low-pressure air, ejected downwards against the surface close below it.
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Longannet power station


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Kincardine (Gaelic: Cinn Chàrdainn) or Kincardine-on-Forth is a small town located on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, in Fife, Scotland. The town was given the status of a Burgh of barony in 1663. It was at one time a reasonably prosperous minor port.
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