220 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



valley from the north. Between Carrol and Kileain the passage is 

 now extremely narrow, and only 7 feet deep, so that the most 

 easterly basin may almost now be considered a separate loch. A 

 large burn, the Alt Smeoral, which enters the most westerly basin 

 is apparently forming by degrees a third constriction in the loch, 

 but the area of deep water is here larger than in the other basins, 

 so that this process takes longer. The Bathymetrical Survey of the 

 loch was made in October, 1902, when the level above the sea was 

 ascertained to be 92*9 feet. The Ordnance Survey of July, 1870, 

 found the elevation to be 9T3 feet. The highest drift-mark found 

 in 1902 was fully 7 feet above the level surveyed, and it was esti- 

 mated that the variation in level may be 9 feet. The drainage area 

 of the loch is nearly 140 times its extent, which gives a very great 

 capacity for water supply, yet in summer the river commonly runs 

 down to a practically unfishable condition. 



The members of the Bathymetrical Survey found the maximum 

 depth to be 66 feet about a mile and a half from the head of the 

 loch. The mean depth was found to be 22 \ feet. The report 

 states : " Loch Brora is extremely irregular in conformation, varying 

 greatly in width, with corresponding undulations of the lake-floor. 

 There are four basins, in which the depth exceeds 30 feet. Proceeding 

 from the foot of the loch, the first, smallest, and shallowest basin 

 has a maximum depth of 31 feet. Passing through the first narrows, 

 where a depth of 7 feet was observed, one enters the second expan- 

 sion of the loch, which is shallow until Eilean nam Taoileag is 

 passed, the second basin lying to the north of that island, and having 

 a maximum depth of 43 feet. Passing through the second narrows, 

 where a depth of 9 feet was found, one enters the third and deepest 

 basin, enclosing the maximum depth of 66 feet, which was recorded 

 approximately near the centre of the basin. Passing through the 

 third and most northerly narrows, in which depths of 4 and 7 feet 

 were recorded, one enters the fourth and largest basin ; this basin 

 is cut into two portions by the slight shoaling of the bottom where 

 the alluvial cone laid down by the Alt Smeoral projects into the 

 loch, the deepest water to the south-east being 59 feet, and to the 

 north-east 64 feet, while on the shoaling the greatest depth observed 

 was 50 feet." 1 



The Carrol Kock is a conspicuous and picturesque object on the 

 southern shores, a bold buttress, projecting from the low wooding, 

 but the views on every hand are pleasantly varied, and as the upper 



1 Royal Geographical Society volume ; London, 1908. 



