Lochan Fada, Letterewe

Lochan Fada
Lochan Fada in early morning. Beinn Lair on the left and A'Mhaighdean on the right.
Lochan Fada Location in Wester Ross
Location	NH02617109
Coordinates	57°41′18″N5°19′21″W / 57.6883°N 5.3225°W / 57.6883; -5.3225
Type	freshwater loch
Basin  countries	Scotland
Max. length	5.8 km (3.6 mi) [1]
Max. width	0.9 km (0.56 mi) [1]
Surface area	377 ha (930 acres) [2]
Average depth	102.5 ft (31.2 m) [1]
Max. depth	248 ft (76 m) [1]
Water volume	4,153,363,991 cu ft (117,610,171.0 m3) [1]
Shore length1	15 km (9.3 mi) [2]
Surface elevation	311 m (1,020 ft) [2]
Max. temperature	51.5 °F (10.8 °C)
Min. temperature	44.1 °F (6.7 °C)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lochan Fada (The long loch) is a large remote and deep freshwater loch that is located three miles north-east of Loch Maree in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. ^{[1] [2]}

Geography

Lochan Fada lies almost directly north of Loch Maree running in a parallel direction, separated by a boggy plateau that runs the length of Loch Maree and constitutes the majority of Letterewe Forest. ^[3] The plateau is bounded by Slioch, one of Scotland's Munros, known as "The Spear" at 981 metres (3218 feet) that dominates the south-eastern end. ^[4] In the middle of the plateau is Beinn Lair at (859 m) with several smaller peaks at the north-western end with the highest being Beinn Airigh Charr at 792 m. Within the ridge is small remote Loch Garbhaig that lies below the northern cliffs of Slioch.

A vast number of lochs and lochans surround Lochan Fada. To the north-west lies the largest at Fionn Loch in Fisherfield Forest. The area directly north of the loch contains a large number of very small lochans grouped around the mountain Ruadh Stac Mor at 919 metres (3,015 ft). To the north-east lies Loch a' Bhraoin. The loch is drained by "Abhainn an Fhasaig", which has carved a steep, rocky gorge, through a waterfall eventually reaching Loch Maree.

Gallery

• Images of Lochan Fada
• 
  Lochan Fada at sunset. In the distance are Beinn Lair on the left and A' Mhaighdean on the right.
• 
  Outflow from the loch
• 
  Early morning on Lochan Fada.
• 
  Lochan Fada at the south-eastern shore
• 
  Cairn on the ridge of Beinn Lair. A glimpse of the top end of Lochan Fada can be seen below.
• 
  Looking towards Slioch from Grudie with Lochan Fada in the foreground

References

1. John, Murray; Lawrence, Pullar. Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897–1909 Lochs of the Ewe Basin Volume II – Lochan Fada. p. 219. Retrieved 8 December 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
2. "Lochan Fada". Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER). Retrieved 8 December 2023.
3. Sandison, Bruce (1997). Trout & Salmon Rivers and Lochs of Scotland. Ludlow: Stackpole Books. p. 209. ISBN   978-1-873674-31-4.
4. Townsend, Chris (30 March 2011). Scotland. Milnathorpe, Cumbria: Cicerone Press Limited. p. 411. ISBN   978-1-84965-353-4.