14 BATHYMETKICAL SURVEY OF 



LOCHS OF THE WICK BASIN. 



THERE are three lochs within this basin which were sounded by the Lake 

 Survey, viz. Lochs Scarmclate, Watten, and Hempriggs ; there were no 

 boats on the few smaller lochs, of which the most important are the Loch 

 of Toftingall, lying to the south-west of Loch Watten, and the Loch of 

 Yarehouse, lying to the south-west of Loch Hempriggs. The basin is a 

 fairly large one, extending from Wick bay on the east coast of Caithness 

 to Sordal hill on the north-west, and to Stemster hill on the south-west, 

 the larger portion being drained by the Wick water and its tributaries 

 independently of the lochs under consideration. The outflow from Loch 

 Scarmclate is carried by the Quoynee burn into Loch Watten, thence into 

 the sea at Wick by the Wick water, which is joined a short distance from 

 the head of Wick bay by the burn of Newton, bearing the outflow from 

 Loch Hempriggs. The lochs are characterized by their shallowness, 

 although one of them (Loch Watten) covers a larger superficial area 

 than any other of the Caithness lochs ; they contain trout, but the fishing 

 is preserved. 



Loch Scarmclate (see Plate III.). Loch Scarmclate (or Scarmclett, or 

 Stemster) is situated about 7 miles to the south-east of Thurso, and over 

 a mile to the north-west of Loch Watten, surrounded by cultivated land, 

 the margins of the loch being swampy and reedy. The loch is somewhat 

 triangular in outline, with the apex pointing to the south-east, and nearly 

 a mile in length, with a maximum breadth exceeding half a mile. The 

 superficial area is about 1 90 acres, or less than one-third of a square mile, 

 and the drainage area about 7 square miles. The floor of the loch is 

 practically uniform in depth, about one-half of the soundings being taken 

 in 5 feet of water, which was the maximum depth observed. The volume 

 of water is estimated at 21 million cubic feet, and the mean depth at half 

 the maximum depth. The loch was surveyed on October 7, 1902, and 

 the elevation of the lake-surface above the sea was determined as being 

 89 '5 feet, which is half a foot higher than the elevation determined by 

 the officers of the Ordnance Survey on February 28, 1871, viz. 89-1 feet. 

 The water in the loch was high on the date of the survey, and a drift- 

 mark was observed about a foot above the surface of the water, but the 

 range in level is apparently very small. The deposits covering the lake- 

 floor are brown muds, except over a small area to the south of the island, 



