Pentland Firth?

[Kenn]

I have always understood firth to mean an estuary so have often wondered why it is called a that.
Whilst there are rivers that flow north towards it they hardly constitute an estuary.
Any one know the answer?

[golach]

I have always understood firth to mean an estuary so have often wondered why it is called a that.
Whilst there are rivers that flow north towards it they hardly constitute an estuary.
Any one know the answer?
Its a wide inlet of the sea Lizz, see the defination from the Scots Dictionary


Firth, Fyrth, n.2 [ON. firði, dat. of fjörðr, a fjord.] A wide inlet of the sea; an estuary

[Kenn]

Being pedantic, it hardly qualifies as an inlet either as it is navigable from both ends albeit with care and attention.

I appreciate that it's origins come from the norse word fjord which is defined as, " A strip of sea that comes into the land between high cliffs."

[golach]

Lizz,
try here, and just accept this version it has been called a firth for a long time now[lol]

http://www.caithness.org/pentlandfirth/index.htm