Loch Arkaig | |
---|---|
Location | Lochaber, Scotland |
Coordinates | 56°57′58″N5°08′02″W / 56.966°N 5.134°W |
Primary inflows | Dessarry, Pean River |
Primary outflows | River Arkaig |
Basin countries | United Kingdom |
Max. length | 12 mi (19 km) |
Surface area | 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi) |
Max. depth | 300 ft (91 m) |
Water volume | 0.75 km3 (0.18 cu mi) |
Surface elevation | 140 ft (43 m) |
Islands | 2 |
Loch Arkaig (Scottish Gaelic : Loch Airceig) is a body of freshwater in Lochaber, Scotland, to the west of the Great Glen. It is approximately 12 miles (19 kilometres) in length and lies 140 feet (43 metres) above sea level, and the maximum depth is around 300 feet (90 metres). The loch is among the last remaining fragments of the Caledonian pinewood, which is native to the UK. [1]
The main tributaries are the Dessarry and the Pean, which flow through the glens of the same names, falling into the loch at the extreme west end, by the settlement of Strathan. The mountains of Lochaber lie to the north, and the Forest of Locheil to the south. The outflow is through the River Arkaig at the extreme southeast of the loch, which flows eastwards 1+3⁄8 miles (2.2 kilometres) to Loch Lochy, passing Achnacarry.
Two small islands lie at the eastern end of the loch, the larger of which, Island Columbkill, or Eilean Loch Airceig, is the site of a ruined chapel dedicated to St Columba which is the former burial ground of the Camerons of Locheil. A road from the Great Glen follows the north shore of the loch to Strathan where paths lead on to Knoydart, Glenfinnan and Loch Morar.
In 1746, Jacobite funds were said to have been hidden here (see Loch Arkaig treasure).
In common with a number of other Scottish lochs, Loch Arkaig was at one time supposed to be the home of a water horse. James Harris, 3rd Earl of Malmesbury and twice foreign minister during Queen Victoria's reign, recorded in his Memoirs of an Ex-Minister:
Glencoe or Glencoe Village is the main settlement in Glen Coe in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands. It lies at the north-west end of the glen, on the southern bank of the River Coe where it enters Loch Leven.
Loch Lochy is a large freshwater loch in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. With a mean depth of 70 m (230 ft), it is the third-deepest loch of Scotland.
Loch Eil is a sea loch in Lochaber, Scotland that opens into Loch Linnhe near the town of Fort William.
Achnacarry is a hamlet, private estate, and a castle in the Lochaber region of the Highlands, Scotland. It occupies a strategic position on an isthmus between Loch Lochy to the east, and Loch Arkaig to the west.
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber, and within their lands lies Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Chief of the clan is customarily referred to as simply "Lochiel".
An Gearanach is a Scottish mountain situated in the Mamore Forest, five and a half kilometres north of Kinlochleven in the Lochaber region of the Highland council area.
Gairich, sometimes Sgurr Gairoch, is a mountain in Lochaber in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It is on the southern side of Loch Quoich, with Glen Garry to the east and Glen Kingie to the south, 25 kilometres north-northwest of Fort William.
Sròn a’ Choire Ghairbh is a Scottish mountain situated on the northern side of Loch Lochy, 13 kilometres north of Spean Bridge in the Highland Council area.
Ben Tee is a Scottish mountain situated in the Lochaber area of the Highland council area, some 15 kilometres north of Spean Bridge. It is rated as one of the best of Scotland's smaller mountains with Hamish Brown saying:
Ben Tee is such a shapely cone that it is instantly recognisable from anywhere around the Great Glen or along the Garry. Its isolated situation makes it one of Scotland’s finest summit viewpoints.
Am Bàthach is a Scottish mountain situated at the head of Glen Shiel, at the western end of Loch Cluanie some 38 km (24 mi) south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.
The Stand-off at the Ford of Arkaig occurred in September 1665 at Achnacarry, about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Fort William, Scotland. The Chattan Confederation led by the Clan Mackintosh assembled an army to challenge Clan Cameron in a 360-year-old dispute over the lands around Loch Arkaig. After a week of stalemate, the long-running feud was ended by a deal in which the Camerons bought the land from the Mackintoshes.
Sgùrr Thuilm is a mountain in the Glenfinnan area of the Highlands of Scotland. It stands at the head of Glen Finnan approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) north of Loch Shiel.
Gairlochy(Scottish Gaelic: Geàrr Lòchaidh) is a clachan, or hamlet, of population approx. 100. It lies on the southern shores of Loch Lochy, a large freshwater loch in the district of Lochaber in the North West Highlands of Scotland. Gairlochy is surrounded by several other small crofting settlements, the largest of which is Achnacarry. Also close by is Highbridge, the site of the first skirmish of the 1745 Jacobite uprising.
The Lochaber hydroelectric scheme is a hydroelectric power generation project constructed in the Lochaber area of the western Scottish Highlands after the First World War. Like its predecessors at Kinlochleven and Foyers, it was designed to provide electricity for aluminium production, this time at Fort William.
Tor Castle is a ruined castle, about 3 miles north east of Fort William, Highland, Scotland, west of the River Lochy and east of the Caledonian Canal, near Torlundy.
The River Nevis flows from the mountains east of Ben Nevis to its mouth near the town of Fort William in Scotland.
Beinn Bhàn is a Scottish mountain situated in the Lochaber region of the Highland Council Area. It stands 6 miles (10 km) north-west of Spean Bridge. The hill is not to be confused with another and better known Beinn Bhàn on the Applecross peninsula.
The Raids on Lochaber and Shiramore took place in the Scottish Highlands between 22 May and 31 August 1746 and were part of the closing operations of the British-Hanoverian Government to bring to an end the Jacobite rising of 1745. Sometimes referred to as the "mopping up" operations, many rebels surrendered themselves and their arms, while others were captured and punished. It also included the hunt for the Jacobite leader Bonnie Prince Charles Edward Stuart otherwise known as the Young Pretender. Most of the work was done on behalf of the Government by the Independent Highland Companies of militia, the Campbell of Argyll Militia and also Loudon's Highlanders regiment.
The River Lochy flows southwest along the Great Glen from Loch Lochy to Loch Linnhe at Fort William in the West Highlands of Scotland. Its two major tributaries are the short River Arkaig which drains Loch Arkaig into Loch Lochy and the River Spean which enters on its left bank at Gairlochy. The A830 road crosses the Lochy near its junction with the A82 road by means of the Victoria or Lochy Bridge just northeast of Fort William and the river is bridged again east of Gairlochy by the B8004 road. The only other crossing of the Lochy is a combined rail and foot bridge 500 metres (1,600 ft) downstream from Victoria Bridge. This span takes the West Highland Line between Fort William and Mallaig and carries the Great Glen Way national trail.
Allt a' Chaol Ghlinne—also spelled Allt a' Chaol-ghlinne—is a river in the Lochaber area of Highland, Scotland. Located in a glen (valley) within the Northwest Highlands of the Scottish Highlands, Allt a' Chaol Ghlinne is a tributary to the River Finnan, which itself flows into Loch Shiel.