Lough Derg (Shannon)
| Lough Derg Loch Deirgeirt |
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| Looking out towards County Clare from County Tipperary across the southern part of the lough | |
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| Coordinates | 52°59′N 8°19′W / 52.983°N 8.317°WCoordinates: 52°59′N 8°19′W / 52.983°N 8.317°W |
| Primary inflows | River Shannon |
| Primary outflows | River Shannon |
| Basin countries | Ireland |
| Surface area | 118 km² |
| Average depth | 7.6 m |
| Max. depth | 36 m |
| Water volume | 0.887 km³ |
| Residence time | 0.15 years |
| Shore length1 | 179,000 m |
| Surface elevation | 33.5 m |
| Settlements | Garrykennedy, Portumna, Killaloe & Ballina, Dromineer, Terryglass |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Lough Derg (from Irish: Loch Deirgeirt meaning "loch of the red eye") is the third-largest lake (or lough) in Ireland (after Lough Neagh and Lough Corrib) and the second-largest in the Republic of Ireland. It is a long, relatively narrow lake, with shores in counties Clare (south-west), Galway (north-west), and North Tipperary (to the east). There are many places to be reached by crossing Lough Derg, one of the popular ones being Gary Kennedy. The lake is the last of the three largest on the River Shannon, with the other two, Lough Ree and Lough Allen lying further north. Some towns or villages on Lough Derg include Gary Kennedy, Portumna, Killaloe & Ballina, Dromineer, Terryglass and Mountshannon.
At its deepest, the lake is 36 metres[1] deep and covers an area of 118 km² (45.5 sq miles). The lake is a popular place for leisure boating, sailing and fishing. Close downstream of where Lough Derg empties into the Shannon are the falls of Doonass, the largest fall on the otherwise gently sloping river, with the nearby location of the world's then-largest hydroelectric power plant at Ardnacrusha in 1927.
In the nineteenth century, Lough Derg was an important artery from the port at Limerick to Dublin through the canals in the midlands of Ireland. Navigable over its full 40 km length, Lough Derg is today popular with cruisers and other pleasure traffic, as well as sailing and fishing. The University of Limerick have an activity centre by the lake, just north of Killaloe, where there are canoes, kayaks, windsurfing, sailing dingies, and other recreations.
[edit] Towns/villages
- Ballina
- Dromineer
- Garrykennedy
- Kilgarvan
- Killaloe
- Mountshannon
- Portumna
- Scarriff (location of regional Waterways Ireland office[2])
- Terryglass
- Whitegate
- Portroe
[edit] See also
- List of loughs in Ireland
- Lough Derg (Donegal), a different Irish lake of the same name
