Loch Maree

Loch Maree
Panorama of Loch Maree, with Slioch in the background.
Loch Maree is located in Highland
Loch Maree
Loch Maree
LocationNorthwest Highlands, Scotland
Coordinates57°41′23″N 5°27′27″W / 57.68972°N 5.45750°W / 57.68972; -5.45750
Catchment areaBeinn Eighe, Slioch, Fisherfield, Glen Docherty, Coulin, Slattadale, Talladale
Basin countriesScotland
Max. length21.66 km (13.46 mi)[1]
Max. width4 km (2.5 mi)
Surface area28.7 km2 (11.08 sq mi)[2]
Average depth38 m (125 ft)[3]
Max. depth112 m (367 ft)[4]
Water volume1.09 km3 (38.5×10^9 cu ft)[5]
Islands60
Designated19 September 1994
Reference no.700[6]

Loch Maree (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Ma-ruibhe)[7] is a loch in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. At 21.7 km (13.46 mi) long[1] and with a maximum width of four kilometres (2+1⁄2 mi), it is the fourth-largest freshwater loch in Scotland; it is the largest north of Loch Ness. Its surface area is 28.7 km2 (11.08 sq mi).[2]

Loch Maree contains five large wooded islands and over 60 smaller ones,[8][9] many of which have their own lochans. The largest island, Eilean Sùbhainn, contains a loch that itself contains an island,[10] a situation that occurs nowhere else in Great Britain.[11] Isle Maree holds the remains of a Pre-Reformation chapel and Christian pilgrimage shrine believed to be the 8th century hermitage of Saint Máel Ruba (d. 722), a Celtic Church missionary from Bangor Abbey in Gaelic Ireland who also founded the monastery of Applecross in 672.[12] It is after him that Loch Maree is named; prior to the saint's arrival in the area the loch is believed to have been named Loch Ewe, as evidenced by the name of the village of Kinlochewe (Scottish Gaelic: Ceann Loch Iù, meaning "Head of Loch Ewe") which is located at the eastern end of Loch Ewe.[13]

The loch is important for wildlife. It is the site of one of the largest breeding concentrations of black-throated diver in Great Britain, and also holds an important population of otter. The islands of Loch Maree are the location of some of the best native Caledonian pinewood in Scotland, and are particularly noted for their dragonflies, with 12 species having been recorded.[14] The waters, islands and shoreline of Loch Maree are protected by several overlapping conservation designations.

  1. ^ a b Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897-1909. Volume I, Table 1.
  2. ^ a b Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897-1909. Volume I, Table 2.
  3. ^ Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897-1909. Volume I, Table 4.
  4. ^ Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897-1909. Volume I, Table 3.
  5. ^ Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897-1909. Volume I, Table 5.
  6. ^ "Loch Maree". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Database - Loch Maree". Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Loch Maree Islands - Scotland's National Nature Reserves". Nnr-scotland.org.uk. 14 April 2014. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Loch Maree Wester Ross – Scotland Info Guide". Scotlandinfo.eu. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  10. ^ Ordnance Survey. 1:25000 Explorer map. Sheet 433, Torridon - Beinn Eighe & Liathach.
  11. ^ "Country diary: Loch Maree, Highlands: Wild winds in an ancient woodland". the Guardian. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  12. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Isle Mare (12049)". Canmore.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference weir was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference sssi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).