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
Pentland Firth Pentland Firth The Pentland Firth (, meaning the Orcadian Strait) is a strait which separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. Despite the name, it is not a firth. The name is presumed to be a corruption of the Old Norse "Petlandsfjörð", meaning "the fjord of Pictland", and is completely unrelated to the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh. Prior to the Norse occupation of Orkney the strait was known as the "Sea of Orcs" – a reference to the Pictish tribe who inhabited Orkney. Such was their marine prowess that there are also instances of this name