Forss Water, known also as Forss River, has its

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute ...

at the northern end of Loch Shurrey, at . About 13 kilometres north of its source the river flows into Crosskirk Bay and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

at . Crosskirk Bay is on the north

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and about 8 kilometres west of the

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; , ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great Britain. From a latitudinal s ...

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

, in

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

, Scotland. The river marked the eastern extent of the

Clan Mackay Clan Mackay ( ; ) is an ancient and once-powerful Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan from the far north of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old Mormaer of Moray, Kingdom of Moray. They supported Robert I of Scotland, Rober ...

raid in the

Sandside Chase The Sandside Chase (The Chase of Sandside, The Chase of Sansett; in Gaelic, Ruoig-Hansett, Ruaig Handside or Ruaig-Shansaid) was a Scottish clan battle which took place in 1437 in Caithness, about west of Thurso. The Clan Mackay launched a raid ...

of 1437.

Tributaries

* Alt Torigil, known also as Alt Forsiescye, enters the river at . * Alltan Guinne enters at . * The Burn of Baillie enters at . * The Burn of Brimside enters at .

Bridges

The river is crossed by four

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s and one footbridge. The road bridges are: * Near the river's source at Loch Shurrey, at . * Near Broubster Village, at . * Near Westfield, at . * Near Lythmore, at . * The Bridge of Forss, which carries the A836 road at . The A836 leads towards

and

John o' Groats John o' Groats () is a village 2.5 mi (4 km) north-east of Canisbay, in the historic county of Caithness, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's north-eastern tip and is popular with tourists. The northernmost point of mainland Scotland is ...

in the east and towards

Reay Reay (, ; , ) is a village which has grown around Sandside Bay on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. It is within the historic Parish of Reay and the historic county of Caithness. The village is on the A836 road some we ...

, Melvich, Bettyhill and

Tongue The tongue is a Muscle, muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for chewing and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper s ...

in the west. The footbridge is near the river's mouth at , providing access to St Marys Chapel, to the west of the river, from Crosskirk, to the east.

References

Rivers of Highland (council area) {{Scotland-river-stub