PROCEEDINGS 



THE EOYAL IRISH ACADEMY, 



SCIENCE 



PAPEES EEAD BEPOEE THE ACADEMY. 



I. — Eepoet o]sr THE Eloea of the Shoees of Lough EE^'^E. By 



ElCHAED MAia.IEFE BAEKE^GTOIir, M.A., LL.B., F.L.S. 



[Read, April 9, 1883.] 



LOUGH EEKE is situated in Eermanagli, and extends through the 

 centre of that county from one end to the other in a north- 

 westerly direction. Its length is over forty miles, if we include the 

 broad, sluggish river which connects its upper portion with the lower 

 and larger sheet of water lying between Enniskillen and Belleek. 

 Its width yaries from six miles to less than half a mile, and in some 

 places it assumes the appearance of a deep, slow river. Its height 

 above the sea level is about 150 feet. The difference between the 

 level of the upper and lower lakes is only two feet, and this very slight 

 gradient in thirty or forty miles causes the water of the Eiver Erne 

 to move with exceediug slowness. Its depth is perhaps greater than 

 any lake in Ireland — reaching 226 feet in one spot. The waves are 

 frequently large, and the navigation dangerous for small boats in 

 rough weather. The islands vary fi'om a few yards across to several 

 acres in extent, and probably exceed one hundred ; they are generally 

 well covered with trees or low shrubs, and the scenery in some 

 places resembles Killamey. 



Promontories, inlets, and bays are so numerous that a guide is 

 essential, especially through the upper lake. These windings enor- 

 mously iuerease the extent of the shore line, and it perhaps reaches 

 150 miles in length. Its distance from the sea at Bundoran is about 

 twelve miles at the nearest point. 



R. I. A. PROC, SEK. II., VOL. IV. — SCIENCE. l! 



