The North Esk (Scottish Gaelic: Easg Thuath) is a river in Angus and Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

[2] Downstream of the meeting of the headwaters referred to above, the River North Esk is joined by various other tributaries.

The West Water is a considerable right bank tributary which enters near Stracathro in Strathmore.

[3] The Rocks of Solitude is a local beauty spot where the River North Esk flows through a narrow gorge in a series of waterfalls at the point where the river crosses the Highland Boundary Fault.

[5] There is a folktale that a Glen Esk piper was once kidnapped by fairies as he played near the river, and that his music can occasionally still be heard in the distance.