St. John’s Loch | |
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Location | Caithness |
Coordinates | 58°37′50″N3°20′07″W / 58.630640°N 3.335164°W |
Type | freshwater loch |
Primary outflows | Burn of Dunnet |
Basin countries | Scotland |
Max. length | 0.8 mi (1.3 km) |
Max. width | 0.6 mi (0.97 km) |
Surface area | 195 acres (0.305 sq mi; 0.79 km2) |
Average depth | 4.5 ft (1.4 m) |
Max. depth | 7 ft (2.1 m) |
Water volume | thirty-eight million cu ft (1,100,000 m3) |
Surface elevation | 71.3 ft (21.7 m) |
St. John's Loch is a loch in the civil parish of Dunnet, in Caithness, Highland, Scotland. [1] Loch Heilen and St. John's Loch are the two largest lochs in the parish. It is about two-thirds mile (1.1 kilometres) inland in a north-easterly direction from Dunnet Bay on the north coast of Scotland. [2]
The loch has a round shape and is just under a one mile (1.6 kilometres) long and just over one-half mile (0.80 kilometres) wide, with a surface area of 195 acres (0.305 square miles; 0.79 square kilometres), almost the same as nearby Loch Heilen. The south-east part of the loch is the deepest, reaching 7 ft (2.1 m). [3]
The overflow of the loch is through the Dunnet Burn, which exits from the south shore. This flows southwards for about two-thirds mile (1.1 kilometres), through the village of Dunnet and then flows into the sea at Dunnet Bay. [3] [4]
There is a large population of wild fowl on the inland lochs around Dunnet, with Mallard, Wigeon, Pochard and Tufted duck being recorded at St. Mary's Loch. [5]
The loch takes its name from a Roman Catholic chapel of St John's, which stood on a grassy knoll at the eastern end of the loch. All that remains of the chapel is a 30 ft (9.1 m) x 18 ft (5.5 m) patch in rough pasture on the knoll. The chapel's priests ascribed virtuous qualities to the water of the loch and took offerings at the altar from visitors using it, enabling curing of the sick and enriching of the church. After the Reformation, the practice arose of throwing money into the loch instead. [6] [7]
Caithness is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
Dunnet Head is a peninsula in Caithness, on the north coast of Scotland. Dunnet Head includes the most northerly point of both mainland Scotland and the island of Great Britain.
Dunnet is a village in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. It is within the Parish of Dunnet.
Tarbat is a civil parish in Highland, Scotland, in the north-east corner of Ross and Cromarty.
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Megget is a former chapelry or parish containing the valley of Megget Water, now forming the westernmost part of the parish of Yarrow, Selkirkshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. The centre of the valley is 19 miles west of Selkirk.
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Loch More is a freshwater loch in Caithness, Scotland, about 14 miles south of Thurso.. It is a shallow flat-bottomed basin, in common with most of the nearby lochs.
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