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The Islands of the Forth are a group of small islands located in the Firth of Forth and in the estuary of the River Forth on the east coast of Scotland. Most of the group lie in the open waters of the firth, between the Lothians and Fife, with the majority to the east of the city of Edinburgh. Two islands lie further west in the river estuary. The islands have a varied geology and history and several have both ecclesiastical connections and were involved in military occupations throughout the centuries of recorded history. Various lighthouses and other aids to navigation have been erected on the islands and skerries, one dating to the 17th century, but only one of the islands is still permanently inhabited. The area has a diversity of bird and sea life and the scientific name for the northern gannet is derived from this bird's connection with the Bass Rock. There are few islands off eastern Scotland and most of any size are in this group.〔Other east coast islands include Mugdrum in the Firth of Tay and Inchcape, a notorious reef off the Angus coast - for a full listing see List of outlying islands of Scotland.〕 ==Geography== Furthest east is the Isle of May, off the coast of Fife south of Crail. To the south in the outer Firth there is a group of islands off East Lothian near North Berwick and Gullane; from east to west they are the Bass Rock (also known simply as "The Bass"〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=The Bass Rock )〕), Craigleith, The Lamb, Fidra and Eyebroughy. A second group lie in the inner Firth of Forth. Inchkeith and Inchcolm are off Kinghorn and Aberdour on the north shore, Inchgarvie lies midway between North and South Queensferry, and Inchmickery and Cramond Island are nearer to Edinburgh on the south shore. Alloa Inch and Tullibody Inch are furthest west in the estuarine waters of the River Forth. Only one of these islands, Inchcolm, has had a resident population in recent years, although there have been monasteries, hermitages, lighthouses and fortifications on most of them in the past. In the late 19th century the Isle of May had a population of over 20.〔Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 490〕 Many of the island names have the first element, "Inch-" (from ''Innis'', the Gaelic word for "island").〔Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 64〕〔''Innis'' also means "meadow".〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Islands of the Forth」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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