Today we visited Loch Ness! The loch lies along the Great Glen fault, a SW-NE diagonal fault that bisects the Highlands. The loch was formed during the retreat of glaciers at the end of the Ice Age. It is very deep (second deepest loch in Scotland) - 755 feet at the deepest point! By volume, it is the largest freshwater loch in the British Isles.
The scenery and topography reminded us a lot of the Finger Lakes in Western New York State. Loch Ness felt bigger to us than the Finger Lakes we are familiar with (Keuka and Canandaigua), and the hillsides definitely seemed steeper. Turns out it is comparable to Seneca Lake, one of the largest Finger Lakes. Here are the stats (compiled from Wikipedia and other internet sources):
Table 1. Nerdy info on selected lochs and lakes.
Loch Ness
|
Seneca Lake
|
Canandaigua Lake
|
Keuka Lake
| |
| Max length (mi) |
22.5
|
38
|
16
|
20
|
| Max width (mi) |
1.7
|
1.9
|
1.5
|
2
|
| Surface area (sq mi) |
21.8
|
66.9
|
16.8
|
18.3
|
| Average depth (ft) |
433
|
291
|
127
|
101
|
| Max depth (ft) |
755
|
618
|
276
|
187
|
| Water volume (cu mi) |
1.8
|
3.8
|
0.39
|
0.34
|
Anyway, we enjoyed the beautiful vistas and appreciated the clear, sunny weather. We also chatted with the bagpiper who was playing Scottish strains on one of the laybys. We had some instrumental and musical questions for him :)
Lochside entertainment
Loch Ness looks great and it really does look like the Finger Lakes. Thanks for the nerdy stats too!
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