Turlough (lake)

A turlough (turloch or turlach in Irish[1]) is a seasonal or periodic water body found mostly in limestone karst areas of Ireland, west of the River Shannon. The name comes from the Irish tur, meaning "dry", and loch, meaning "lake". The water bodies fill and empty with the changes in the level of the water table, usually being very low or empty during summer and autumn and full in the winter. As groundwater levels drop the water drains away underground through cracks in the karstic limestone.[2]

Turloughs are almost unique to Ireland, although there is one example in Wales, Pant-y-Llyn at Cernydd Carmel near Llandeilo.[3][4] They are of great interest to many scientists: geomorphologists are interested in how turloughs were formed, hydrologists try to explain what makes turloughs flood, botanists study the unusual vegetation which covers the turlough floor, and zoologists study the animals associated with the turloughs.

The turlough at Carran, County Clare, Ireland. The water level is high following a spell of wet weather. (Late May 2005)
  1. ^ "eDIL 2019: An Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, based on the Contributions to a Dictionary of the Irish Language (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1913-1976)". Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  2. ^ Reynolds, Julian D.; Duigan, Catherine; Marnell, Ferdia; O'Connor, A. (1998). Extreme and Ephemeral Water Bodies in Ireland. Chapter 4 in: Studies in Irish Limnology, Editor: P.S. Giller. The Marine Institute (Dublin, Ireland).
  3. ^ Blackstock, T. H.; Duigan, C. A.; Stevens, D. P.; Yeo, M. J. M. (September 1993). "Case studies and reviews. Vegetation zonation and invertebrate fauna in Pant-y-llyn, an unusual seasonal lake in South Wales, UK". Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 3 (3): 253–268. doi:10.1002/aqc.3270030309.
  4. ^ "3180 Turloughs : Freshwater habitats". jncc.gov.uk. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 6 December 2021.