Loch Morar

Loch Morar is a freshwater loch in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It is the fifth-

largest loch by surface area in Scotland, at 26.7 km2 (10.3 sq mi), and the deepest
freshwater body in the British Isles with a maximum depth of 310 m (1,017 ft).
The loch was created by glacial action around 10,000 years ago, and has a surface
elevation of 9 metres (30 ft) above sea level. It separates the traditional district of
North Morar (which contains the village of Morar), from Arisaig and Moidart.

Geography

The banks of the loch are steep at the eastern end

Loch Morar is 18.8 kilometres (11.7 mi) long, has a surface area of 26.7 km2 (10.3
sq mi), and is the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles with a maximum
depth of 310 m (1,017 ft). In 1910, John Murray and Laurence Pullar found it to
have a mean depth of 87 metres (284 ft) and a total volume of 2.3073 cubic
kilometres (81,482,000,000 cu ft) during their survey of Scottish lochs. The bottom
is deepened below the United Kingdom Continental Shelf, and until 1943, when a
depth of 324 metres (1,062 ft) was observed in the Inner Sound, it was believed to
be the deepest water in the United Kingdom. The surface of the loch is 9 metres
(30 ft) above sea level.

The water of the loch is clear and oligotrophic, with a minimal intake of nutrients,
making it a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The main inflow is the River
Meoble on the southern side, which drains from Loch Beoraid, although there are
three other major inflows at the eastern end of the loch and a stream draining a
complex of lochans to the north-west of Loch Morar. The outflow is the River
Morar at the western end, which at a few hundred metres long is one of the shortest
rivers in the British Isles. At the shallower western end of the loch, there are a
number of sizeable forested islands.

The hydroelectric power station on the loch

Swordland Lodge, on the northern shore of the loch, was used as training school
STS 23b during the Second World War by the Special Operations Executive. A
750 KW hydroelectric power station with a hydraulic head of 5.5 metres (18 ft)
was built on the River Morar in 1948.

Habitation
At the western end of the loch is the village of Morar, which is between Arisaig
and Mallaig on the coastal A830 road. The settlements of Bracorina and Bracara
are located along the northern shore of the loch, but there is no road along the
southern shore. Tarbet, on the shore of Loch Nevis, is a short distance from Loch
Morar.
During the period of the Highland Clearances, many residents emigrated to
Canada.Boats left in 1790, 1802, and 1826, carrying people to Quebec, Glengarry
in Ontario, and the Strait of Canso in Nova Scotia respectively.

Geology

The eastern end of the loch

Loch Morar is located entirely within the Morar Group of sediments, which were
deposited in the latter part of the Cambrian, and subsequently subjected to many
phases of deformation.

The loch occupies a basin produced by the overdeepening of the valley by glacial
erosion, along an east-west fault line. It is not a sea loch due to isostatic rebound
that raised the rock sill at the end of the loch.
Based on estimates of erosion of between 2–4 mm (3⁄32–5⁄32 in) per year, the deep
basin was created over a period of 67,000 – 150,000 years of glacial action, which
occurred intermittently during the last million years of the Quaternary
glaciation.An outwash fan made up of sand and gravels at the western end of the
loch marks the limit of the re-advance in the Morar valley. Subsequently, colonised
by vegetation and known as Mointeach Mhòr (the mossy plain), these deposits
blocked the outflow of the loch to the south, so that it drained from the north-west
corner instead.

The catchment area of the loch is 168 square kilometres (65 sq mi), and the
geology is base-poor. A site to the north of the loch was selected in 2011 as a SSSI
for its characteristic rock exposures of the Moine group by the Geological
Conservation Review, replacing the area around Mallaig harbour, which had been
previously regarded as the most representative site.

Wildlife
The loch is surrounded by a mix of natural woodland, open hillside, sheep and
cattle pasture and planted mixed coniferous and broadleaf woodlands. Only around
0.7% of the surface of the loch can be colonised by plants.

Fish
Loch Morar's fish population is believed to be limited to Atlantic Salmon, brown
trout and sea trout, Arctic char, eel, stickleback, and minnow. Trout average
around 340 g (3⁄4 lb) in size, but ferox trout of up to 7 kg (15 lb) have been caught.
The loch is also known to contain eels, although none were caught in a recent
survey of eel populations in Lochaber, suggesting that they prefer the loch to the
tributaries surveyed. Catches of salmon and sea trout declined dramatically
between the 1970s and 1980s, in common with other catchments on the west coast.
Artificial stocking of the River Morar with salmon and sea trout was suspended in
2007 after the hatchery was closed.
The main salmonid spawning grounds are the River Meoble and the smaller burns
that feed into the loch. The hydroelectric power station, which contain one of only
two fish counters in Lochaber, is shut down during the smolt run, following a study
on smolt mortality in 1992.

The catchment is managed by the Morar District Salmon Fishery Sub-board, which
employs a full-time fisheries manager. Poaching in the form of netting has been
known to occur at the mouth of the River Morar.

Monster
In common with Loch Ness, occasional reports of large unidentified creatures in
the loch's waters are made. The monster has been dubbed Morag