320 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



create, as it were, the fishing in the river. If the fall were blown 

 up and completely removed, the majority of people who have fished 

 the river, or who know the district at all, would agree that the 

 angling would be much injured, since fish would then run right 

 through the river and get lost for sport in the loch above. 



It is certainly true that if sport is to be secured with salmon in 

 the Morar district, the fish must be " held up " in the river. It 

 seems to me, however, that a greater extent of water might be 

 utilised ; that fish might be let up the fall more easily, and checked 

 to a greater extent in the water immediately above. In this way 

 six pools might come to be fished instead of only three. 



It would not be difficult to lower the fall to some extent say 

 about two feet ; the operations in the upper river require more con- 

 sideration. The most satisfactory spots would have to be selected 

 for the erection of croys on such a scale as to create lies for fish. It 

 might also be possible to do something in the way of impounding a 

 certain amount of water, so as to regulate water-flow in the river, 

 and move fish up at spring tides or when the river falls unduly low. 



LOCH MORAE. 



This loch naturally received considerable attention from the 

 members of the Bathymetrical Survey, Mr. J. Y. Buchanan having 

 shown in 1879 that there were depths of over 1000 feet. The 

 particulars which I now give are principally taken from the report 

 of Dr. T. N. Johnston. 1 



The loch is a little over 11^ miles in length, and the maximum 

 breadth is over 1J miles near the west end. The mean breadth is 

 -f& of a mile, or about 1\ per cent, of the length. The area covered 

 by the lake is 6596 acres, or nearly 10i square miles. 



There are several islands towards the west or seaward end of the 

 loch, and these and the surrounding low ground are richly wooded. 

 Towards the upper end, however, vegetation becomes more and more 

 scanty, and the hills rise with greater abruptness, till at the head of 

 the loch three peaks rise to 3133, 2718, and 2818 feet. 



About two-thirds of the way up on the north side a narrow neck 

 or tarbet separates the loch from the sea in Loch Nevis. Dr. 

 Johnston points out that should the land be depressed 40 feet, Loch 

 Morar would be converted into a submerged valley like Loch Etive, 

 with, I presume, a rapid at the present Morar Fall corresponding to 

 the Falls of Lora at Connel Ferry. 



1 "Lochs of the Morar Basin," Scottish Geographical Magazine, xx., 1904, No. 9. 



