Editing Geography of Ireland (section)

===Inlets===
{{see also|List of Irish counties by coastline}}
<!-- [[File:Topography Ireland.jpg|thumb|[[Topography]] of Ireland|alt=See caption]] -->

[[File:Killary Harbour.jpg|thumb|left|[[Killary Harbour]] forms a natural border between counties [[County Galway|Galway]] and [[County Mayo|Mayo]] for {{convert|16|km}}|alt=A photograph of Killary Harbour]]
In County Donegal, [[Lough Swilly]] separates the western side of the [[Inishowen peninsula]] from the wider county. [[Lough Foyle]] on the other side, is one of Ireland's larger inlets, situated between County Donegal and [[County Londonderry]].<ref name="donegal">{{cite web | last = Joyce | first = P.W. | title = Description of County Donegal | work = Atlas and Cyclopedia of Ireland | year = 1900 | url = http://www.libraryireland.com/Atlas/Donegal.php | access-date = 2 February 2008 | archive-date = 1 January 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080101022944/http://www.libraryireland.com/Atlas/Donegal.php | url-status = live }}</ref> Clockwise round the coast is [[Belfast Lough]], between County Antrim and County Down.<ref name="down">{{cite web | last = Joyce | first = P.W. | title = Description of County Down | work = Atlas and Cyclopedia of Ireland | year = 1900 | url = http://www.libraryireland.com/Atlas/Down.php | access-date = 2 February 2008 | archive-date = 31 December 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071231065218/http://www.libraryireland.com/Atlas/Down.php | url-status = live }}</ref> Also in County Down is [[Strangford Lough]], actually an inlet partially separating the [[Ards peninsula]] from the mainland. Further south, [[Carlingford Lough]] is situated between Down and [[County Louth]].<ref name="down" />

[[Dublin Bay]] is the next sizeable inlet. The east coast of Ireland has no major inlets until [[Wexford Harbour]] at the mouth of the River Slaney.<ref>{{cite web | last = Joyce | first = P.W. | title = Description of County Wexford | work = Atlas and Cyclopedia of Ireland | year = 1900 | url = http://www.libraryireland.com/Atlas/Wexford.php | access-date = 2 February 2008 | archive-date = 31 December 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071231065323/http://www.libraryireland.com/Atlas/Wexford.php | url-status = live }}</ref> On the south coast, [[Waterford Harbour]] is situated at the mouth of the River Suir,<ref>{{cite web | last = Joyce | first = P.W. | title = Description of County Waterford | work = Atlas and Cyclopedia of Ireland | year = 1900 | url = http://www.libraryireland.com/Atlas/Waterford.php | access-date = 2 February 2008 | archive-date = 31 December 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071231065313/http://www.libraryireland.com/Atlas/Waterford.php | url-status = live }}</ref> into which the other two of the [[The Three Sisters (Ireland)|Three Sisters]] (the Rivers Nore and Barrow) flow. The next major inlet is [[Cork Harbour]], at the mouth of the River Lee, in which [[Great Island]] is situated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://infomar.ie/surveying/Bays/Corkv1.php |title=Surveys – Cork Harbour and Coast |publisher=Integrated Mapping For the Sustainable Development of Ireland's Marine Resource (INFOMAR) |access-date=6 August 2023 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214047/http://infomar.ie/surveying/Bays/Corkv1.php |archive-date=3 March 2016 }}</ref>

[[Dunmanus Bay]], [[Kenmare River|Kenmare estuary]] and [[Dingle Bay]] are all inlets between the peninsulas of western [[County Cork]] and [[County Kerry]]. North of these is the Shannon Estuary. Between north County Clare and County Galway is [[Galway Bay]]. [[Clew Bay]] is located on the coast of [[County Mayo]], south of [[Achill Island]], while [[Broadhaven Bay]], [[Blacksod Bay]] and [[Sruth Fada Conn]] bays are situated in northwest Connacht, in North Mayo. [[Killala Bay]] is on the northeast coast of Mayo. [[Donegal Bay]] is a major inlet between County Donegal and [[County Sligo]].<ref name="donegal" />

A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were {{Convert|565|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of tidal flats in Ireland, making it the 43rd-ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Murray |first1=N.J. |last2=Phinn |first2=S.R. |last3=DeWitt |first3=M. |last4=Ferrari |first4=R. |last5=Johnston |first5=R. |last6=Lyons |first6=M.B. |last7=Clinton |first7=N. |last8=Thau |first8=D. |last9=Fuller |first9=R.A. |title=The global distribution and trajectory of tidal flats |journal=Nature |date=2019 |volume=565 |issue=7738 |pages=222–225 |doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0805-8 |pmid=30568300 |s2cid=56481043 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0805-8 |access-date=3 August 2021 |archive-date=24 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124213205/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0805-8 |url-status=live }}</ref>