Firth locally the change is held to be at the Tail of the Bank where the river crosses a sandbar off Greenock at the junction to the Gare Loch, or even further west at Gourock point. However, some firths are exceptions. The Cromarty Firth on the east coast of Scotland, for example, resembles a large loch with only a relatively small outlet to the sea and the Solway Firth and the Moray Firth are more like extremely large bays. The Pentland Firth is a strait rather than a bay or an inlet. These are connected to, or form part of, the
Firth of Tay after the one in Scotland. He also named nearby Dundee Island in honour of the main city on the firth. The Firth of Tay and Eden Estuary were designated a Ramsar sites on 28 July 2000, as a Special Protection Area on 2 February 2000 and as a Special Area of Conservation on 17 March 2005. Several parts are within a site of special scientific interest - Inner Tay Estuary, Monifieth Bay, Tayport-Tentsmuir Coast. The Invergowrie Bay section is a local nature reserve. The Firth of Tay is outstanding for its extensive sand and mudflats, its population of common seals