Speaking after an emergency meeting of her cabinet, Sturgeon said it had agreed to seek "immediate discussions with the EU institutions and other EU member states to explore all possible options to protect Scotland's place in the EU."
The UK as a whole voted by 52 per cent to 48 per cent to leave the EU in Thursday's historic referendum. But Scotland voted strongly for Britain to remain -- by 62 per cent to 38 per cent.
She cited a clause in her Scottish National Party manifesto that there had been a "significant and material change in the circumstances" in which Scotland voted against independence in 2014, when 55 per cent of Scots voted to stay in the UK.
On Saturday, Sturgeon reiterated her plans.
"As I said yesterday, a second independence referendum is clearly an option that requires to be on the table and is very much on the table," she said.