River Forth

River Forth and Firth of Forth

Meander of the River Forth

The Forth River is a river in Scotland, which flows about 47 km from river at Kincardine in the Firth of Forth.

Although this 45 km long Firth of Forth geologically a fjord and as such is a bay of the North Sea, it is often calculated as oversized estuary with the River Forth, which is why its length is often specified at 92 km.

The headwaters of the river lies in the mountainous region of the Trossachs. The commonly called " spring lake " of the river, 33 m above the sea-side Loch Ard gets its water from mountain streams. Their biggest is the 4 ½ km long Chon Water that comes from the 90 m high and not quite 3 km of Loch Chon, which in turn is fed by numerous spring-fed streams. With this actual headwaters and the length of Loch Ard of Forth is therefore hydrologically about 55 km long.

From Loch Ard of the River Forth flows east, partly strongly meandering. The river length is one and a half times as long as the air line between the lake and the fjord. The underflow with tidal influence begins in Stirling. The river here is still so flat that it can be at times traversed in a ford. Historically, the river from the mouth to Stirling is frequented by ships