Loch Ness

Loch Ness
With Urquhart Castle in the foreground
Loch Ness
Location	Scottish Highlands
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[1]
Primary inflows	River Oich/Caledonian Canal, River Moriston, River Foyers, ,
Primary outflows	River Ness/Caledonian Canal
Catchment area	1,770 km2 (685 sq mi)
Basin countries	Scotland, United Kingdom
Max. length	36.2 km (22.5 mi)
Max. width	2.7 km (1.7 mi)
Surface area	56 km2 (21.8 sq mi)
Average depth	132 m (433 ft)
Max. depth	226.96 m (124.10 fathoms; 744.6 ft)
Water volume	7.5 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 (/ˌlɒx ˈnɛs/; Scottish Gaelic: Loch Nis^[2] [l̪ˠɔx ˈniʃ]) is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 kilometres (23 miles) southwest of Inverness. Its surface is 16 metres (52 feet) above sea level.

Loch Ness is best known for alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie" (Scottish Gaelic: Niseag). 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 , which feeds the River Ness and a further section of canal to Inverness, ultimately leading to the North Sea via the Moray Firth. 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.

At 56 km² (22 sq mi), Loch Ness is the second-largest Scottish loch by surface area after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth, it is the largest by volume in the British Isles. Its deepest point is 230 metres (126 fathoms; 755 feet),^[3][4] making it the second deepest loch in Scotland after Loch Morar. A 2016 survey claimed to have discovered a crevice extending to a depth of 271 m (889 ft), but further research determined this to be a sonar anomaly.^[5] It contains more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined,^[4] and is the largest body of water in the Great Glen, which runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south.

Etymology[]

Loch Ness is named for the river Ness which flows from the loch's northern end. The river's name probably derives from an old Celtic word meaning "roaring one".^[6]

William Mac Kay in his book Urquhart and Glenmoriston: Olden times in a highland parish, published in 1914, claims that the origin of the name is from an old Scottish legend which contains the sentence "Tha loch ‘nis ann, tha loch ‘nis ann!" ("There's a loch now, there's a loch now!").

Villages and places[]

At Drumnadrochit is the "Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition"^[7] 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, 2 kilometres (1+1⁄4 miles) east of Drumnadrochit.

Lighthouses are located at Lochend () and Fort Augustus.

Loch Ness Monster[]

Loch Ness is known as the home of the Loch Ness Monster (also known as "Nessie"), a cryptid, reputedly a large unknown animal. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next. Popular interest and belief in the animal's existence have varied since it was first brought to the world's attention in 1933.^[8]

Lifeboat[]

There is an RNLI lifeboat station on Loch Ness, which has been operational since 2008.^[9] It is staffed by a volunteer crew and equipped with an inshore lifeboat (ILB).^[10]

Fish species[]

Urquhart Bay and Loch Ness viewed from Grant's Tower at Urquhart Castle

The following fish species are native to Loch Ness. A number of others such as perch and roach have been introduced in the Loch or Caledonian Canal with various levels of success.^[11]

Island[]

Loch Ness has one island, Cherry Island, at the southwestern end of the loch, near Fort Augustus. It is an artificial island, known as a crannog, and was probably constructed during the Iron Age.^[12]

There was formerly a second island (Dog Island) but this was submerged when the water level was raised during the construction of the Caledonian Canal.^[12]

Hydroelectricity[]

Loch Ness serves as the lower storage reservoir for the Foyers pumped-storage hydroelectric scheme, which was the first of its kind in the 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-megawatt Glendoe Hydro Scheme near Fort Augustus, began generation in June 2009.^[13] It was out of service between 2009 and 2012 for repair of the tunnels connecting the reservoir to the turbines.^[14][15]

Geology[]

Loch Ness lies along the Great Glen Fault, which forms a line of weakness in the rocks which have been excavated by glacial erosion, forming the Great Glen and the basins of Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness.^[16]

Image gallery[]

• 

  Locks on Caledonian Canal in Fort Augustus, Loch Ness in the background

• 

  Loch Ness looking south, taken in May 2006.

• 

  Sunrise over Loch Ness, taken at Urquhart Castle

• 

  Loch Ness panorama from a ship in 2008

• 

  Loch Ness Urquhart castle

Loch Ness records[]

John Cobb died in an attempt at the water speed record when his boat Crusader struck an unexplained wake on the surface of the loch in 1952.^[17] His accident was recorded by the BBC reporters on site at the time.^[18] Nearby, there is a memorial to him erected by the people of Glenurquhart.

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 77 km (48 miles) in 77 minutes at an average speed of 60 km/h (37 mph).^[19]

In July 1966, became the first person to swim the length of the loch. It took her 31 hours and 27 minutes.^[20]

References[]

External links[]

Look up Loch Ness in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Media related to Loch Ness at Wikimedia Commons
• Loch Ness travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Loch Ness information Website, Editor Tony Harmsworth
• Loch Ness Project Research Site, Editor Adrian Shine
• Loch Ness Investigation website, Editor Dick Raynor
• Loch Ness Pictures
• Loch Ness Photographs
• Virtual Tour of Loch Ness and surrounding area
• Nessieland at Loch Ness