List of lochs of Scotland

This list of lochs in Scotland includes the majority of bodies of standing freshwater named as lochs but only a small selection of the generally smaller, and very numerous, lochans. This list does not currently include the reservoirs of Scotland except where these are modifications of pre-existing lochs and retain the name "loch" or "lochan".

It has been estimated that there are at least 31,460 freshwater lochs (including lochans) in Scotland, and more than 7,500 in the Western Isles alone.[1] Whilst lochs are widespread throughout the country, they are most numerous within the Scottish Highlands and in particular in the former counties of Caithness, Sutherland and Ross and Cromarty. The majority of the larger lochs are linear in form; their distribution through the West Highlands reflects their origin in the glacial overdeepening of the straths and glens they now occupy.

Loch is a Scottish Gaelic word for a lake or fjord (cognate with the Irish Gaelic loch, which is anglicised as lough and with the older Welsh word for a lake, llwch) that has been borrowed by Scots and Scottish English to apply to such bodies of water, especially those in Scotland. Whilst "loch" or "lochan" is by far the most widespread name for bodies of standing water in Scotland, a number of other terms exist. The Lake of Menteith is the only natural body of freshwater called a "lake" in Scotland, (although it is also known as Loch Innis Mo Cholmaig in Gaelic) and there are one or two other man-made "lakes", the Lake of the Hirsel being an example. Numerous lochs are called "water", particularly in the Northern Isles, e.g. Roer Water in Shetland and Heldale Water in Orkney. These are not to be confused with similarly named rivers, particularly in the south of Scotland, e.g. Yarrow Water and Blackadder Water.

Largest and deepest lochs

Loch Awe

This table includes the twelve largest lochs by volume, area and length as listed by Murray and Pullar (1910).[2][3] The volume of water in Loch Ness is nearly double that in all the lakes of England and Wales combined.[1] Murray and Pullar also note that the mean depth of Loch Ness is 57.4% of the maximum depth – higher than in any other large deep loch, with Loch Avich coming closest at 52.4%.[4] Lochs Maree, Shiel and Ness are recorded as being the narrowest of the large lochs in relation to their length.[5]

Loch Volume
(km3) 		Volume
(mi3) 		Area
(km2) 		Area
(mi2) 		Length
(km) 		Length
(mi) 		Max. depth
(m) 		Max. depth
(ft) 		Mean depth
(m) 		Mean depth
(ft)[6]
Loch Ness 7.45 1.79 56 22 36.2 22.5 227 745 132 433[4]
Loch Lomond 2.6 0.62 71 27 36 22 190 620 37 121[7]
Loch Morar 2.3 0.55 26.7 10.3 18.8 11.7 310 1,020 87 285[8]
Loch Tay 1.6 0.38 26.4 10.2 23 14 150 490 60.6 199[9]
Loch Awe 1.2 0.29 39 15 41 25 94 308 32 105[10]
Loch Maree 1.09 0.26 28.6 11.0 20 12 114 374 38 125[5]
Loch Ericht 1.08 0.26 18.6 7.2 23 14 156 512 57.6 189[9]
Loch Lochy 1.07 0.26 16 6.2 16 9.9 162 531 70 230[11]
Loch Rannoch 0.97 0.23 19 7.3 15.7 9.8 134 440 51 167[12]
Loch Shiel 0.79 0.19 19.5 7.5 28 17 128 420 40 130[13]
Loch Katrine 0.77 0.18 12.4 4.8 12.9 8.0 151 495 43.4 142[14]
Loch Arkaig 0.75 0.18 16 6.2 19.3 12.0 109 358 46.5 153[15]
Loch Shin 0.35 0.084 22.5 8.7 27.8 17.3 49 161 15.5 51[16]

Neither the Loch of Stenness nor the Loch of Harray on Mainland Orkney is large enough to appear in the above table (Loch of Harray is 16th by area) but at higher stages of the tide they are connected to one another and to the marine waters of Hoy Sound. The former is the largest brackish lagoon in the UK[17] and the latter, whilst predominantly freshwater, does have a transition zone in the vicinity of the Bridge of Brodgar where the two are connected.[18] The two lochs together cover an area of 19.3 km2 (7.5 sq mi)[18] but have a volume of only 0.047 km3 (0.011 cu mi) as they are so shallow; Loch of Stenness has a maximum depth of 5.2 metres (17 ft). Although flow between the two lochs and the sea can be observed, the water levels only change slightly with the movements of the tide.[19]

Mainland

In reaching an alphabetically arranged list, the words "loch" and "lochan" have been ignored as have articles and prepositions in both Gaelic (a', an, an t-, na, na h-, nam, nan etc.) and English (of, the etc.). Those that have been converted to reservoirs for water supply or in association with hydroelectric projects and whose levels have been artificially raised by the construction of dams or barrages are annotated as reservoir.