Loch Ness

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For other uses, see Loch Ness (disambiguation).
Loch Ness
LochNessUrquhart.jpg
With Urquhart Castle in the foreground
Location Highland, Scotland
Coordinates 57°18′N 4°27′W / 57.300°N 4.450°W / 57.300; -4.450Coordinates: 57°18′N 4°27′W / 57.300°N 4.450°W / 57.300; -4.450
Type freshwater loch, oligotrophic, dimictic
Primary inflows River Oich/Caledonian Canal, River Moriston, River Foyers, River Enrick, River Coilte
Primary outflows River Ness/Caledonian Canal
Catchment area 1,775 km2 (685 sq mi)
Basin countries Scotland
Max. length 36.3 km (22.6 mi)
Max. width 2.7 km (1.7 mi)
Surface area 56.4 km2 (21.8 sq mi)
Average depth 132 m (433 ft)
Max. depth 226.96 m (744.6 ft)
Water volume 7.4 km3 (1.8 cu mi)
Surface elevation 15.8 m (52 ft)
Islands 1 (Cherry Island)
Settlements Fort Augustus, Invermoriston, Drumnadrochit, Abriachan, Lochend; Whitebridge, Foyers, Inverfarigaig, Dores.

Loch Ness (pron.: /ˌlɒx ˈnɛs/; Scottish Gaelic: Loch Nis, [l̪ˠɔxˈniʃ]) is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 km (23 mi) southwest of Inverness. Its surface is 15.8 m (52 ft) above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie". It is connected at the southern end by the River Oich and a section of the Caledonian Canal to Loch Oich. At the northern end there is the Bona Narrows which opens out into Loch Dochfour, which feeds the River Ness and a further section of canal to Inverness. It is one of a series of interconnected, murky bodies of water in Scotland; its water visibility is exceptionally low due to a high peat content in the surrounding soil.

Loch Ness is the second largest Scottish loch by surface area at 56.4 km2 (21.8 sq mi) after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth, it is the largest by volume. Its deepest point is 230 m (755 ft),[1][2] deeper than the height of London's BT Tower at 189 m (620 ft) and deeper than any other loch except Loch Morar. It contains more fresh water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined,[2] and is the largest body of water on the Great Glen Fault, which runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south.

Contents

Villages and places [edit]

Places on Loch Ness
North
Shores Western Eastern
South

At Drumnadrochit is "The Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition"[3] which examines the natural history and legend of Loch Ness. Boat cruises operate from various locations on the loch shore, giving visitors the chance to look for the "monster".

Urquhart Castle is located on the Western shore, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Drumnadrochit.

Lighthouses are located at Lochend (Bona Lighthouse) and Fort Augustus.

Fish species [edit]

Urquhart Bay and Loch Ness viewed from Grant's Tower at Urquhart Castle.
European eel Anguilla anguilla
Pike Esox lucius
Three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus
Brook lamprey Lampetra planeri
Eurasian minnow Phoxinus phoxinus
Atlantic salmon Salmo salar
Sea trout Salmo trutta
Brown trout Salmo trutta
Arctic char Salvelinus alpinus

Island [edit]

The only island on Loch Ness is Cherry Island, visible at its southwestern end, near Fort Augustus. It is a crannog, which is a form of artificial island.[4] Most crannogs were constructed during the Iron Age.

There was formerly a second island (Dog Island) which was submerged when the water level was raised during the construction of the Caledonian Canal.[4]

Hydroelectricity [edit]

Loch Ness serves as the lower storage reservoir for the Foyers pumped-storage hydroelectric scheme, which was the first of its kind in United Kingdom. The turbines were originally used to provide power for a nearby aluminium smelting plant, but now electricity is generated and supplied to the National Grid. Another scheme, the 100 MW Glendoe Hydro Scheme near Fort Augustus, has recently finished construction and began generation in June 2009 producing 76 gigawatt hours in its first months of operation[5][not in citation given], but is currently out of service while awaiting repair of the tunnels connecting the reservoir to the turbines[6][7]

Geology [edit]

Loch Ness lies along the Great Glen Fault, which forms a line of weakness in the rocks which has been excavated by glacial erosion, forming the Great Glen and the basins of Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness.

Gallery [edit]

Loch Ness World Records [edit]

John Cobb lost his life in an attempt at the Water speed record when his boat Crusader struck a wake on the surface of the loch in 1952.

On 31 August 1974, David Scott Munro, of Ross-shire Caberfeidh Water Ski Club, became the first person in the world to water ski (mono ski) the length of Loch Ness. From Lochend to Fort Augustus and back, he covered the 48 miles (77 km) in 77 minutes at an average speed of 37 miles per hour (60 km/h).[8]

Brenda Sherratt was the first person to swim 36.2 kilometres (22.5 mi) across the length of Loch Ness in Scotland in 31 hours and 27 minutes in July 1966.

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897–1909". National Library of Scotland. Archived from the original on 2007-02-08. 
  2. ^ a b "Ness, Loch". The Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 2010-02-09. 
  3. ^ The Loch Ness Centre.
  4. ^ a b O. Blundell (1909) Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Vol 43, pp. 159-164.
  5. ^ Glendoe Hydro scheme. Scottish and Southern Energy. Retrieved 2007-08-28. 
  6. ^ Hydro-electric scheme's dam close. BBC. 2008-09-01. Retrieved 2010-02-09. 
  7. ^ SSE Glendoe.
  8. ^ Press & Journal newspaper, Inverness edition, 2 September 1974

External links [edit]

Look up Loch Ness in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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