Loch Ness

Loch Ness is a loch in the Scottish Highlands. It is also on the Great Glen Fault and part of the Caledonian Canal.

Loch Ness
LochNessUrquhart.jpg
With Urquhart Castle in the foreground
LocationScottish Highlands
Typefreshwater loch, oligotrophic, dimictic[1]
Primary inflowsRiver Oich/Caledonian Canal, River Moriston, River Foyers, River Enrick, River Coiltie
Primary outflowsRiver Ness/Caledonian Canal
Catchment area1,770 km2 (685 sq mi)
Basin countriesScotland
Max. length36.2 km (22.5 mi)
Max. width2.7 km (1.7 mi)
Surface area56 km2 (21.8 sq mi)
Average depth132 m (433 ft)
Max. depth226.96 m (124.10 fathoms; 744.6 ft)
Water volume7.5 km3 (1.8 cu mi)
Surface elevation15.8 m (52 ft)
Islands1 (Cherry Island)

Geography

Loch Ness is 36 kilometres long and only 1.5 kilometres wide. It is the second largest Scottish loch by surface area at 56.4 km2 (21.8 sq mi), after Loch Lomond. Because of its great depth, it is the largest by volume. Its deepest point is 230 m (755 ft).[2][3] This is deeper than any other loch except Loch Morar.

It contains more freshwater than all the lakes in England and Wales combined,[3] 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.

In popular legend, it is the home of the "Loch Ness Monster", a myth which was promoted by a faked photograph.

Loch Ness Media

Other websites

References

  1. Dill, W.A. (1993). Inland Fisheries of Europe, p. 227. EIFAC FAO Technical Report 52 suppl.
  2. "Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897–1909". National Library of Scotland. Archived from the original on 2007-02-08.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Ness, Loch". The Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 2010-02-09.