Editing Stonehaven (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Stonehaven-aerial.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Stonehaven from the air]]
[[File:Stonehaven Beach.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Stonehaven Beach]]
Stonehaven is 15 miles (24&nbsp;km) south of [[Aberdeen]] sheltered in [[Stonehaven Bay]]. The [[Carron Water, Aberdeenshire|Carron Water]] and [[Cowie Water]] run through the town. Stonehaven lies adjacent to a deeply indented bay surrounded on three sides by higher land between [[Downie Point]] and Garron Point. The harbour, consisting of two basins, was improved in the 1820s by the engineer [[Robert Stevenson (civil engineer)|Robert Stevenson]] (grandfather of the author [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]), and became an important centre of the 19th century [[herring]] trade;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stonehaven |url=http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst184.html |access-date=23 December 2012 |publisher=Gazetteer for Scotland |archive-date=14 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214025433/http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst184.html |url-status=live }}</ref>  the harbour is bordered on the north by [[Bellman's Head]] and the south by [[Downie Point]]. At the western edge of Stonehaven west of the [[A90 road]] lies the village of [[Kirktown of Fetteresso|Kirkton of Fetteresso]]. Nearby to the south, [[Fowlsheugh]] is a coastal [[nature reserve]], known for its 230-foot-high cliff formations and habitat supporting prolific seabird nesting colonies.
 
Stonehaven has grown rapidly since the [[Petroleum|oil]] boom in Aberdeen. The increasing demand for new, middle-class housing has seen four new estates being appended to the town, creating an expanse of [[suburb]]s and Stonehaven has been bypassed since 1984.

Parts of Stonehaven near to the Carron Water were prone to [[flooding]] following heavy rain.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 December 2012 |title=Stonehaven's flood-hit homes evacuated |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-20827290 |access-date=23 December 2012 |archive-date=22 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121222185328/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-20827290 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2 November 2009 |title=Heavy rain causes flooding chaos |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8337149.stm |access-date=23 December 2012 |archive-date=20 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720095601/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8337149.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Aberdeenshire Council]] has completed construction of flood defenses in 2023 that have now been effective at preventing flooding from major storms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stonehaven Flood Protection Scheme - Aberdeenshire Council |url=https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/environment/flooding/stonehaven-fps/ |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref> 

The [[Highland Boundary Fault]] traverses Scotland from the [[Isle of Arran]] and [[Helensburgh]] on the west coast to immediately north of Stonehaven on the east coast.