Firth of Lorn

Firth of Lorne
Firth of Lorne Location in Scotland
Location	Scotland, United Kingdom
Coordinates	56°20′N 5°45′W / 56.333°N 5.750°W / 56.333; -5.750Coordinates: 56°20′N 5°45′W / 56.333°N 5.750°W / 56.333; -5.750

The Firth of Lorn or Lorne (Scottish Gaelic: An Linne Latharnach) in origin refers to the waters off the coast of a now obsolete geopolitical region, Lorn or Lorne. A firth in Scottish English is a long estuary, the same as or similar to a fjord, although somewhat arbitrary in application. The name of Lorn descends from the proto-history of Scotland. A nineteenth-century geographical reference defines it as being a district in the county of Argyllshire, where the –shire segment reflects a former political status of Argyll.

Lorn was a maritime district, located on Scotland's west coast, on the eastern shore of Loch Linnhe and the Firth of Lorn. The northern border was Loch Leven. The eastern and southern borders were the line of Loch Awe, Loch Avich, and Loch Melfort. Lorne lost its geopolitical status with the passage of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, effective in 1975. It had survived the same act of 1947 and again 1972, which retained most of the traditional local structure. In 1975, two Lorne's appeared, North and South, both now burghs in the county of Argyll, in the region of Strathclyde. With the abolition of the counties in 1996, Argyll and Bute and part of Dumbarton were united into the Argyll and Bute Council Area. It contains only "towns and villages." None of them are Lorn.

Lorn shattered, so to speak, under the exigencies of time and politics. The firth, however, which had long since acquired the name, remains a living concept. In 2005 much of the eastern side became a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) according to European Union's Habitats Directive. The reefs and skerries of the small islands on that side are deemed habitats of interest.