Geography of Scotland example at Aberdeen. Much of the Scottish coastline consists of a machair formation, a dune pasture land formed as sea levels subsided. The east coast has several significant estuaries and other nature reserves including the Ythan Estuary and Fowlsheugh, both of which have been designated as Important Bird Areas. Firths of Scotland include the Solway Firth, Firth of Clyde, and Firth of Lorne on the west coast, and the Cromarty Firth, Moray Firth, Firth of Tay, and Firth of Forth on the east coast. The Pentland Firth is not an inlet, but the strait that separates the Orkney Isles from
Solway Firth were designated as conservation targets in 2013, as Allonby Bay - an inlet of the Solway Firth - was put forward as a candidate for a Marine Conservation Zone. A long-distance walking route, the Annandale Way, runs through Annandale, from the source of the River Annan, in the Moffat Hills, to the Solway Firth; it was opened in September 2009. Unlike other parts of the west coast of Scotland, the Solway Firth is generally devoid of islands. However, there are a few examples: The Isle of Whithorn is actually a peninsula. The Solway Firth forms the estuary of the River