Loch Eigheach
Loch Eigheach is a large, upland dammed freshwater loch a mile long and half a mile wide on Rannoch Moor, in Perthshire.[1][2]
The loch as seen today overspreads 327 acres, but this is the result of the damming of the river for hydroelectric power: the undisturbed Loch Eigheach was much smaller.
Contents
Dam
Loch Eigheach is part of the Tummel hydro-electric power scheme and had been enlarged in the 1950s and dam placed at its eastern end by the Gaur Dam.[3]
Geography
- Location map: 56°40’47"N, 4°31’57"W
Loch Eigheach lies on the River Gaur ('Garbh Ghaoir'), between Loch Laidon in the west and Loch Rannoch in the east.[3] Its average depth is just six feet: its maximum 28 feet.
On its northern shore, a stream the Allt Eigheach, flows into the loch. The main inflow to the loch in the east is the Gaur. Loch Eigheach is traversed by the River Gaur that flows out of Loch Eigheach in the west. The water leaving Loch Eigheach across the River Gaur first flows through a hydroelectric power station before being returned to the riverbed.
The shores of Loch Eigheach are completely uninhabited. Parts of the north shore and the dam wall are accessed by the B846. All other shorelines are not accessible by car. Loch Eigheach is a fishing area where mainly perch are caught.
Outside links
References
- ↑ John, Murray; Lawrence, Pullar (1910). Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897-1909 Lochs of the Tay Basin Volume II - Loch Eigheach. National Library of Scotland: National Challenger Officer. p. 67. https://maps.nls.uk/bathymetric/text/page/910. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
- ↑ "Loch Eigheach". http://www.britishlakes.info/22840-loch-eigheach-tayside. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Eigheach, Loch". School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh and The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst2511.html. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
