64 Guide to Belfast. 



watershed ; ultimately it enters Lough Neagh below 

 Randalstown. The extreme north of Antrim (with the 

 exception of a small area near Ballycastle) is drained by the 

 Bush river. This river enters the sea below the town of 

 Bushmills. The Lower Bann has been noted as forming 

 the western boundary of the county. 



Rivers of Down. 



A number of rivers originate on the slopes on either side 

 of the watershed found in the southern half of the county. 

 To the east of the Mourne mountains are a number of small 

 streams, such as the Kilkeel and Annalong rivers, with short 

 and steep courses; while to the west the gradients are easier, 

 the courses much longer, and the rivers attain to much more 

 importance, the Upper Bann having a course 40 miles long, 

 and the river Lagan a course of 38 miles. 



In the "lowland" district north of the line between 

 Hillsborough and Downpatrick, the following rivers are 

 found flowing into Strangford Lough : the Quoile, Black- 

 water, and the Comber river ; draining into the Lagan, the 

 Ravernel and other small streams. 



L.\KES. 



The most important of these is Lough Neagh ; and being 

 the largest expanse of fresh water in the United Kingdom, it 

 is worthy of some consideration. It is about 14 miles long 

 and 8| miles broad, occupying an area of about 98,224 

 acres. It is bounded by five counties — Antrim, Derry, 

 Tyrone, Armagh, and Down — each of which includes a portion 

 of the lake. Though of such size, it is one of the shallowest 

 of our British lakes, its average depth being less than forty 

 feet. Soundings made in Lough Neagh reveal some 

 interesting facts. A shallow margin extends around the 

 shores. This margin is of considerable extent, and varies in 

 depth from two to three feet; at the edge of this margin there 

 is a sudden and steep depression, when the lake deepens 

 gradually to a depth of fifty feet in the centre. Between 

 Langford Lodge and Kiltagh Point, near the centre of the 

 lake, occurs a well defined channel. This channel may be 

 traced in a northerly direction for about twelve miles, attaining 



