| Loch Watten | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Location | Caithness |
| Coordinates | 58°29′25″N3°19′46″W / 58.49028°N 3.32944°W |
| Type | freshwater loch |
| Basin countries | Scotland |
Loch Watten is a natural loch in the River Wick drainage basin in Caithness, Scotland. [1]
The name is almost a tautology, but not perfectly: The word "loch" (of Gaelic origin) means "lake", of course. The Norse word vatn means "water", in general, [2] including terms like brunn-vatn ("fountain water") and regn-vatn ("rain water"), but is also found in the names of several lakes, such as Þingvallavatn and Myvatn in Iceland, and Røssvatnet and Møsvatn in Norway, similar to some English naming customs, e. g. Kielder Water.
Loch Watten has a surface of 373 ha, a mean depth of 2.6 m and a maximum depth of 3.7 m. The surface level is 17 m A.O.D.. Its catchment area comprises 55,78 km2. Its main tributaries are the Quoynee Burn (from Loch Scarmclate [3] ) and the Gillock Burn, merging 800 metres before their entry. The outlet towards Wick River has a length of about 500 metres and is called Loch Burn.
Loch Watten is well known as a good fly fishing loch for brown trout with the local village Watten being located to the south.
Media related to Loch Watten at Wikimedia Commons