List of lakes and lochs of the United Kingdom

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The list of lakes, lochs, loughs and llyns of the United Kingdom is a link page for some large lakes of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), including lochs fully enclosed by land.

Contents

Lakes in Scotland are called lochs, and in Northern Ireland loughs (pronounced the same way, i.e. (/lɒx/)). In Wales a lake is called a llyn. The words "loch" and "lough", in addition to referring to bodies of freshwater ("lakes"), are also applied to bodies of brackish water or seawater, which in other countries or contexts may be called fjord, firth, estuary, bay etc. In particular, the term "sea-loch" is used in Scotland in this way, as the English language equivalent of 'fjord'. (There are many examples, including Loch Carron, Loch Torridon etc.)

Some of the largest lakes in England and Wales are man-made reservoirs or lakes whose size has been increased by damming.

Largest water bodies in the United Kingdom

NASA Landsat image of Lough Neagh Lough Neagh with administrative boundaries.jpg
NASA Landsat image of Lough Neagh
Loch Lomond in winter LochLomond(wfmillar)Jan2000.jpg
Loch Lomond in winter
Loch Ness With Urquhart Castle in the foreground LochNessUrquhart.jpg
Loch Ness With Urquhart Castle in the foreground
The islands of Loch Maree Loch Maree.jpg
The islands of Loch Maree

This table includes the ten largest fresh water bodies by area. Lough Neagh is the largest water body in the UK by this measure, although Loch Ness is the largest by volume and contains nearly double the amount of water in all the lakes of England and Wales combined. [1] Loch Morar is the deepest of the UK's lakes and Loch Awe the longest. Murray and Pullar (1910) note that the mean depth of Loch Ness is 57.4% of the maximum depth – higher than in any other large deep loch in Scotland. [2] The deepest lake in England is Wast Water which descends to 76 metres (249 ft).

NameLocationArea (mi2)Area (km2)Volume (km³)Length (km)Max. depth (m)Mean depth (m) [3]
Lough Neagh Northern Ireland147.87383 [4] 3.52830259
Lower Lough Erne Northern Ireland42.28109.5 [5] 1.3 [6] 29 [7] 62 [6] 11.9 [5]
Loch Lomond Scotland27.45712.63619037 [8]
Loch Ness Scotland21.78567.4539230132 [2]
Upper Lough ErneNorthern Ireland13.334.5 [5] < 0.3519 [7] < 60 [7] 2.3 [5]
Loch Awe Scotland14.85391.2419432 [9]
Loch Maree Scotland11.0328.61.092011438 [10]
Loch Morar Scotland10.3272.318.831087 [11]
Loch Tay Scotland10.1926.41.62315060.6 [12]
Loch Shin Scotland8.722.50.3527.84915.5 [13]

Largest natural lakes in England

LakeArea (sq mi)
Windermere 5.69
Ullswater 3.44
Bassenthwaite Lake 2.06
Derwent Water 2.06
Coniston Water 1.89

Largest natural lakes in Wales

These are largely 'natural' but some have minor modifications to regulate their outflow.

LakeArea (sq mi)
Llyn Tegid 1.87
Llangorse Lake 0.59
Llyn Cowlyd 0.42
Llyn Padarn 0.38
Tal-y-llyn lake 0.34
Llyn Cwellyn 0.34
Llyn Llywenan 0.20
Kenfig Pool 0.11

Largest reservoirs in the United Kingdom

LakeArea (sq mi)Location
Rutland Water 4.86England
Kielder Water 4.25England
Lake Vyrnwy 3.18Wales
Pitsford Water 2.85England
Grafham Water 2.85England
Chew Valley Lake 1.88England
Trawsfynydd 1.84Wales
Clywedog 1.55Wales
Carron Valley 1.51Scotland
Haweswater 1.50England
Derwent Reservoir 1.44England
Llyn Brenig 1.44Wales
Colliford 1.4England
Thirlmere 1.25England
Llyn Celyn 1.25Wales

See also

Notes

  1. "Botanical survey of Scottish freshwater lochs" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine SNH Information and Advisory Note Number 4. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  2. 1 2 Murray and Pullar (1910) "Lochs of the Ness Basin" Pages 381-85, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  3. Source for all quantities is the same unless otherwise stated.
  4. "Lough Neagh" Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine discoverireland.com. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "ECN Sites: Lough Erne" Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine Environmental Change Network. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  6. 1 2 Gibson, C.E.; Foy, R.H.; and McNally, J. (2005) "Stratification and Oxygen Depletion in Lower Lough Erne 1991-2000" Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 105 No. 2, pp. 81-86.
  7. 1 2 3 "Lough Erne" Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  8. Murray and Pullar (1910) "Lochs of the Clyde Basin" Archived 2012-09-04 at archive.today Page 262, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  9. Murray and Pullar (1910) "Lochs of the Etive Basin" Page 270, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  10. Murray and Pullar (1910) "Lochs of the Ewe Basin" Page 211, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  11. Murray and Pullar (1910) "Lochs of the Morar Basin" Page 197, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  12. Murray and Pullar (1910) "Lochs of the Tay Basin" Page 80, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  13. Murray and Pullar (1910) "Lochs of the Naver Basin" Pages 293-94, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.

Related Research Articles

Lough Neagh Freshwater lake in Northern Ireland

Lough Neagh is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland, and the largest in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles overall, with a surface area of 151 square miles. It supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows are the Upper River Bann and River Blackwater, and its main outflow is the Lower River Bann. Its name comes from Irish Loch nEachach[ˌl̪ˠɔx ˈn̠ʲahəx], meaning "Eachaidh's lake". The lough is owned by the Earl of Shaftesbury and managed by Lough Neagh Partnership Ltd.

Lough Erne

Lough Erne is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River Erne, which flows north and then curves west into the Atlantic. The smaller southern lake is called the Upper Lough as it is higher up the river. The bigger northern lake is called the Lower Lough or Broad Lough. The town of Enniskillen lies on the short stretch of river between the lakes. The lake has more than 150 islands, along with many coves and inlets. The River Erne is 80 miles (129 km) long and drains an area of about 1680 square miles (4,350 km2).

Loch Morar A lake in Lochaber, Scotland

Loch Morar is a freshwater loch in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It is the fifth-largest loch by surface area in Scotland, at 26.7 km2 (10.3 sq mi), and the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles with a maximum depth of 310 m (1,017 ft). The loch was created by glacial action around 10,000 years ago, and has a surface elevation of 9 metres (30 ft) above sea level. It separates the traditional district of North Morar, from Arisaig and Moidart.

A lake-burst is a phenomenon referred to in Irish mythology, in which a previously non-existent lake comes into being, often when a grave is being dug. Part of the lake-burst stories may originate in sudden hydrographic changes around limestone-based inland plains or turloughs. Other so-called lake-bursts refer to marine estuaries, bays and inlets, such as Galway Bay, Strangford Lough, Dundrum Bay, Belfast Lough, Waterford Harbour and the mouth of the River Erne. Some of these coastal districts were renowned for the drowned prehistoric forests, which gave rise to several flood-myths.

Loch Lyon

Loch Lyon is a freshwater loch in Glen Lyon, located in Perthshire, Scotland, which feeds the River Lyon, a tributary of the River Tay. Loch Lyon lies in Glen Lyon, that is the longest enclosed Glen in Scotland, stretching over 30 miles from Fortingall in the east to Loch Lyon in the west. Sir Walter Scott described Glen Lyon as the longest, loneliest and loveliest glen in Scotland.

Loch Assynt A lake in Sutherland, Scotland

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Loch Drunkie

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Loch Ness Lake in Scotland, United Kingdom

Loch Ness is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 kilometres southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie". 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. The southern end connects to Loch Oich by the River Oich and a section of the Caledonian Canal. The northern end connects to Loch Dochfour via the River Ness, which then ultimately leads to the North Sea via the Moray Firth.

Loch Langavat

Loch Langavat is the name of several freshwater lochs in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The name is a Gaelic rendition of Old Norse lang "long" and vatn, meaning "lake".

Loch Voil

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Loch of Craiglush

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Loch Màma

Loch Màma is a small freshwater loch in South Morar, Lochaber, in the north west of Scotland. It forms a simple basin and is orientated east to west. It is thought that the adjoining loch Loch na Creige Duibhe and Loch Màma were at one time a single loch. Debris brought down by the Allt Dearg stream has likely caused the lochs to be separated into two bodies of water. The loch is the source of the river Allt a' Mhama.

Loch Loch

Loch Loch is a remote freshwater loch, located in Glen Loch in Perth and Kinross, some 9.5 miles north of Pitlochry, Scotland and is within the Forest of Atholl.

Loch Dubh is a lochan on the Duchray Water in the western part of Loch Ard Forest in the Central Highlands of Scotland.

Loch Doine

Loch Doine is a small freshwater loch that lies to the west of Balquhidder in the Trossachs and Teith ward within Stirling council area of Scotland. It is a short, narrow loch. It is separated from Loch Voil to the east by a small channel. The Loch can be reached by a small single track road from Balquhidder leading to Inverlochlarig.

Loch Laidon

Loch Laidon or Loch Lydoch or Loch Luydan is a long thin freshwater loch, on a southwest to northeast orientation, with outlets on the southwest side, that form the loch into a walkingstick with two supports, and is located on Rannoch Moor on the boundary of both Argyll and Bute and Perthshire in the Scottish West Highlands, within the Highland council area of Scotland. The largest of the western arms is 1.5 miles in length. A new species or sub-species of brown trout was discovered in Loch Laidon in late 2018

Loch Skiach

Loch Skiach is a small freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, situated 4 miles southwest of Ballinluig. Directly south of Loch Skiach is the smaller Little Loch Skiach

Loch Bhac

Loch Bhac is a fine freshwater trout loch, located in the west part of the Allean Forest, and east part of Tay Forest park, and slightly north of Loch Tummel, within Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Loch Bhac sits on a south-west to north-east orientation.

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