triangular-shaped inlet of the North Sea in northeastern Scotland. It reaches a maximum width of 16 miles (29 km), from Tarbat Ness on its northern shore to Burghead on its southern shore. Two smaller inlets, the Cromarty Firth and the Beauly Firth, extend inland from the inner reaches of the Moray Firth. The city of Inverness lies at the head of the Moray Firth, and the town of Nairn and the council area and historic county of Moray are on its southern shore.