Moray Firth
The
Moray Firth (
Scottish Gaelic:
An Cuan Moireach) is a roughly triangular
inlet of the
North Sea, north and east of
Inverness. It is the largest
firth in
Scotland, stretching from
Duncansby Head in
Caithness in the north, to
Fraserburgh in
Banff and Buchan in the east, to the
Beauly Firth and
Inverness in the west. It has more than 800
kilometres (about 500
miles) of coastline, much of which is cliffs.
A number of rivers flow into the Moray Firth, including the
River Spey, and various smaller firths and
bays are
inlets of the Moray Firth, including the
Cromarty Firth, the
Dornoch Firth and the
Beauly Firth. The
Pentland Firth also has its eastern mouth at its boundary.
The Moray Firth is effectively two firths, the Inner Moray Firth, which was traditionally known as the Firth of Inverness, and the Outer Moray Firth which is more open North Sea water. The name "Firth of Inverness" is rarely found on modern maps, but extended from the
Beauly Firth in the west, to
Chanonry Point in the east.
The Moray Firth is one of the most important places on the
U.K. coast for observing
dolphins and
whales. The most common species are the
Bottlenose Dolphin and the
Harbour Porpoise.
It is also an important
oil field and fishing grounds. The
Beatrice oil field in the Outer Moray Firth is the closest of the North Sea oil fields; it is also the (
as of 2004) planned home for a 200-
turbine deep-water
wind farm. Much of the fishing industry focuses on
scallops and
Norway lobsters.
The Inner Moray Firth is a designated as a
Special Protection Area for wildlife conservation purposes.
*
UK governent website re its status as a protected site*
Scottish government press release about seal management in the firth*
The Moray Firth Wildlife Centre*
The Moray Firth Partnership
