THE CONON DISTRICT 207 



of 164 feet, and a mean depth of 67 feet, 1 but this floor is 

 irregular, there being three 50 feet basins, separated by 

 shallower waters. " The largest and deepest lies in the wider 

 north-western half of the loch, and is about 2^ miles in length, 

 approaching to within less than 200 yards from that end. 

 The central 50 feet basin is separated from the north-western 

 basin by an interval of half a mile, in which lies the single 

 small island in the loch, and where the depth in the centre at 

 another place is only 5 feet, and is over 1J miles in length. 

 Immediately to the south-east of this central basin there is a 

 narrow constriction in the outline of the loch, in which a depth 

 of 16 feet was recorded, succeeded by a slight expansion con- 

 taining the third 50 feet basin, with a maximum depth of 55 

 feet, and of small extent." 



Two things seem clear from this, first, that if the falls were 

 blown up the last-mentioned area of 55 feet would be at once 

 drawn upon ; and secondly, that if, say, the level of Loch 

 Luichart was lowered by 20 feet, two, or even three, lochs of a 

 more or less imperfect formation would be formed instead of one. 



The river Bran, above Loch Luichart, is a beautiful little 

 river, with some pools and streams which would make 

 interesting casts were salmon present, and much of which 

 would make excellent spawning ground. This river flows 

 from Loch Rosque (Loch a Chroisg), and until about a couple 

 of miles above Loch Luichart has a fairly even gradient. At 

 the point referred to a moderate cascade occurs, which in 

 certain stages of the river would form an obstacle to ascent. 



The river Grudie, which flows from Loch Fannich to join the 

 Bran a mile above Loch Luichart, is a brawling, rushing stream, 

 which does not offer much prospect of ever being satisfactorily 

 opened up. It falls 460 feet in three miles and a half, and is a 

 mass of difficulties, none of them perhaps very great, but taken 

 collectively, in my opinion, rather too serious. 



The upper regions of the district show signs of great 

 denudation. The terraces of alluvium which may be seen 

 around Achnasheen Railway Station are delta deposits laid 

 down in an ancient lake. On every hand the mountains have 



1 " Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland," by 

 Sir John Murray and Laurence Pullar. Scottish Geographical Magazine, 

 xxi., No. 9, p. 471. 



