THE FRESH-WATER LOCHS OF SCOTLAND. 73 



LOCHS OF THE OBAN BASIN. 



THE only loch to be dealt with here is the little Loch Gleann a' Bhearraidh, 

 lying about 2 miles to the south-south-west of Oban, from which the 

 town draws its water-supply. It is a good trout loch, but the fishing is 

 preserved. 



Loch Gleann a' BJiearraidh (see Plate XXVIII.). Loch Gleann a* 

 Bhearraidh (or na Gleann na Bheathrach) is a long narrow loch, trending 

 south-west and north-east, and about two-thirds of a mile in length, by one- 

 eighth of a mile in maximum breadth, covering an area of about 29 acres, 

 and draining an area of about half a square mile. The loch is cut into 

 two portions by the narrows near the upper (south-west) end, where the road 

 crosses the loch over a bridge. The upper portion beyond the bridge is 

 shallow, the greatest depth being 9 feet ; but the north-eastern portion is 

 almost entirely covered by more than 1 feet of water, and there is a deep 

 basin with a maximum depth of 48 feet near the lower end. The volume 

 of water is estimated at 16 million cubic feet, and the mean depth at 13 

 feet. The basin is simple, and of the whole area 89 per cent, is covered 

 by less than 20 feet of water, while 4 per cent, exceeds 40 feet in depth. 

 When the loch was surveyed on May 28, 1903, the elevation above the 

 sea could not be determined, but the water was standing up to the edge 

 of the overflow passage at the weir. 



