Firth of Forth | |
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Location | Scotland, United Kingdom |
Coordinates | Coordinates: 56°10′N 2°45′W / 56.167°N 2.750°W |
Basin countries | Scotland, United Kingdom |
The Firth of Forth (Scottish Gaelic: Linne Foirthe) is the estuary (firth) of the River Forth in Scotland, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north and Lothian to the south. It was known as Bodotria in Roman times. In the Norse sagas it was known as the Myrkvifiörd.
Geologically, the Firth of Forth is a fjord, formed by the Forth Glacier in the last glacial period.
Many towns line the shores, as well as the petrochemical complexes at Grangemouth, commercial docks at Leith, former oil rig construction yards at Methil, the ship-breaking facility at Inverkeithing and the naval dockyard at Rosyth, along with numerous other industrial areas, including the Forth Bridgehead area, encompassing Rosyth, Inverkeithing and the southern edge of Dunfermline, Burntisland, Kirkcaldy, Bo'ness and Leven.
The Kincardine Bridge, the Clackmannanshire Bridge, the Forth Road Bridge and the Forth Bridge carry traffic across the firth. Queensferry Crossing, alongside the Forth Road Bridge, was initially expected to open in 2016 but has since been delayed until May 2017.