196 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



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 J 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 containing 

 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 Eosque (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 

 Eailway Station are delta deposits laid down in an ancient lake. 

 On every hand the mountains have been formed by the gouging 

 away of their sides in torrents and icefloes. The eastern section 

 of the district is already denuded to a low level, and the Cromarty 

 Firth, the present estuary of the Conon district, represents no doubt 

 a portion of the early river course, the opening between the Old 

 Red Sandstone suitors of Cromarty being, as Hugh Miller pointed 

 out, the original mouth of the early river. The line from one suitor 



