| Moray Firth | |
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  Moray Firth Location in Scotland | |
 Map of the Firth | |
| Location | Scotland,United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 57°50′N03°35′W / 57.833°N 3.583°W /57.833; -3.583 |
| Official name | Inner Moray Firth |
| Designated | 22 July 1999 |
| Reference no. | 1002[1] |
TheMoray Firth (/ˈmʌri-/;Scottish Gaelic:An Cuan Moireach,Linne Mhoireibh orCaolas Mhoireibh) is a roughly triangularinlet (orfirth) of theNorth Sea, north and east ofInverness, which is in theHighlandcouncil area of the north ofScotland.
It is the largest firth in Scotland, stretching fromDuncansby Head (nearJohn o' Groats) in the north, in the Highland council area, andFraserburgh in the east, in theAberdeenshire council area, to Inverness and theBeauly Firth in the west.
Therefore, three council areas have Moray Firth coastline: Highland to the west and north of the Moray Firth and Highland,Moray and Aberdeenshire to the south. The firth has more than 500 miles (800 km) of coastline, much of which is cliff.
The firth is named after the 10th-centuryProvince of Moray, whose name in turn is believed to derive from the sea of the firth itself. The local namesMurar orMorar are suggested to derive fromMuir, theGaelic for sea,[2] whilstMurav andMorav are believed to be rooted inCeltic wordsMur (sea) andTav (side), condensed toMur'av for sea-side.[3] The firth has, in the past, been referred to as the Murro Firth and the Morra Firth. 'Murro' and 'Morra' being variants of Moray; these older variations are also shown in older names for Morayshire itself, such as Morrowshire.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
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A number of rivers flow into the Moray Firth, including theRiver Ness, theRiver Findhorn and theRiver Spey. Various smaller firths and bays are inlets of the firth, including theCromarty Firth and theDornoch Firth. ThePentland Firth has its eastern mouth at the Moray Firth's northern boundary.
The Moray Firth is effectively two firths, the Inner Moray Firth57°33′N04°09′W / 57.550°N 4.150°W /57.550; -4.150, 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 theBeauly Firth in the west, toChanonry Point in the east.
The Moray Firth is visible for considerable distances, including a long range view from as far to the east asLongman Hill.[10] FromBuckie, on a clear day it is possible to see Wick in the far north of Scotland more than 80 km (50 mi) away.
From Lossiemouth it is possible to see the hills of Caithness and the hills are easily identified, one being Morven and the other being Scaraben. FromBurghead, the white mass ofDunrobin Castle can just be made out in the distance on a very clear day; from Nairn, the two red bands on theTarbat Ness Lighthouse around 30 km (20 mi) away, can be seen with binoculars.
The Great Channel in the Inner Moray Firth, was dredged by engineers in 1917 for the safe passage of ships that wanted to avoid the long and dangerous passage around the north of Scotland, by transiting theCaledonian Canal. The Channel went from the entrance of Munlochy Bay to the Meikle Mee Starboard Hand Mark, but was not maintained and filled in very quickly.
The Moray Firth is of tectonic origin, the formation is related in part to theHelmsdale Fault. For some time during thelast ice age, the whole of the present day Moray Firth was a huge glacier. Nevertheless, the inner part and its side-inlets, theCromarty Firth andDornoch Firth, are truefjords themselves.
Though there is a reasonabletide with mean tide ranges of about three metres (ten feet), only some of the rivers draining into the bay haveestuaries. Masses of sediment from the adjacent mountains have formed spits around several mouths. Those ofRiver Ness andRiver Carron have significantly narrowed the fjords they enter.[11][12][13][14][15][16]
The Moray Firth is one of the most important places on theBritish coast for observingdolphins andwhales. The most common species are thebottlenose dolphin andharbour porpoise, with occasional sightings of thecommon dolphin andminke whale.
The popularwildlife viewing area located atChanonry Point host some spectacular displays ofdolphins within the inner Moray Firth. Also, visitor centres atSpey Bay andNorth Kessock are run by theWhale and Dolphin Conservation Society, where dolphins and other wildlife can often be seen. The old jetty at the Fort George Point is the location of the Dolphin Research Centre, with leading marine biologist Prof.
Greame Taylor working part-time studying hunting and breeding habits and part-time working with the Community Council giving tours and teaching the ways of the dolphin.[17]
It is also an importantoil field and fishing grounds. TheBeatrice oil field about 20 miles south of Wick and east of Helmsdale was the closest of theNorth Sea oil fields; since being decommissioned in 2017 it is the site of theBeatrice Wind Farm. Much of the fishing industry focuses onscallops andNorway lobsters. The area also contains theMoray East (completed) andMoray West (to be completed in 2025) offshore wind farms.
The Inner Moray Firth is designated as aspecial protection area for wildlife conservation purposes.The Moray Firth contains aspecial area of conservation (SAC) designated under the EU Habitats Directive, which is one of the largest marine protection areas in Europe. The SAC protects the inner waters of the Moray Firth, from a line betweenLossiemouth (on the south coast) andHelmsdale (on the north coast) westwards.[citation needed]
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