90 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



weights of fish are or were from 18 to 22 lb., and fish from 30 to 

 35 lb. have frequently been taken. A 39 lb. fish was got in 

 1900 at Killin. The fish are caught by trolling and the line is 

 sunk deep, for the loch is deep. The same class of fish are 

 taken in Loch Ness, which, in recent years, has become a serious 

 rival of time-honoured Loch Tay. 



In length the loch is fully 14| miles ; the mean breadth 

 being 0-70 mile. The superficial area is 10-19 square miles, the 

 maximum depth 508 feet, and the mean depth 199-076 feet. 1 



The loch lies in a north-east and south-west direction, and 

 is therefore an example of a valley running along the main 

 axes of the country's formation. It is of extremely simple 

 conformation, the bottom sloping gradually without any 

 pronounced irregularities. The slope is rather steeper at the 

 south-west or Killin end than at the outflow end. " The 50- 

 feet basin approaches to within less than 400 feet from the 

 south-west end and less than 800 feet from the north-east 

 end, and is 14^ miles in length." The 100-feet basin is very 

 nearly 14 miles in length, while the 200-feet basin is about 

 11 miles in length. The deepest part of the loch is about 5| 

 miles from the north-east end of the loch, being between Skiag 

 and Cragganruar, and here there is a small basin 500 feet in 

 depth. 



The officers of the Ordnance Survey found the level above 

 the sea to be 347-9 feet on 12th August, 1899. The staff of the 

 Bathymetrical Survey determined the level, by levelling from 

 bench marks, as being 349-1 feet in 1902. In great part the 

 loch has been hollowed out by ice erosion, although geologists 

 appear to agree that it is not entirely so, since a well-marked 

 fault slants across the north-eastern end and, continuing 

 along the southern side of the loch, is traced through Loch 

 Earn and on to the shores of Loch Vennacher. 



A section of water at each end of the loch is preserved by 

 Lord Breadalbane, who owns the right of fishing, but by 

 staying at any of the neighbouring hotels angling can be 

 obtained. Kenmore Hotel has six boats and about 8 

 miles of water. Killin Hotel has also six boats and 8 



1 Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh Water Lochs of Scotland, under 

 the direction of Sir John Murray and Laurence Pullar. Scottish 

 Geographical Magazine, vol. xix., No. 11. 



