220 



Part III. — Eleventh Annual Report 



III. — THE INVERTEBRATE FAUNA OF THE INLAND WATERS 

 OF SCOTLAND. Part III. By Thomas Scott, F.L.S. (Plates 

 VI., VII.) 



Loch Morar, Inverness-shire. 



Introduction. 



I was requested to visit this loch in September last year (1892), to 

 make an investigation of its invertebrate fauna, and to obtain some 

 information concerning the depth of the loch, the specific gravity of 

 its bottom water, &c. 



Mr Anderson Smith, one of the members of the Fishery Board, who 

 was at this time engaged on board the fishery steamer 'Garland,' in 

 carrying on an extensive series of observations — biological and physical — 

 among the islands and fiords of the West of Scotland, assisted me very 

 materially in carrying out the work that I had been requested to take in 

 hand. 



I was conveyed on board the ' Garland' to Tarbet, Loch Nevis, where 

 there is a nice sheltered little bay, and where there is a small inn ; at which 

 boats and men for Loch Morar may be obtained or arranged for. There 

 is a fairly good road leading from Tarbet Inn to Loch Morar, which is 

 only about three-quarters of a mile, if so much, distant. The inn is 

 nearly midway between the upper and lower ends of the loch, and forms 

 an excellent rendezvous for anglers and others who desire to work the 

 upper as well as the lower ends. Unfortunately, the inn is not readily 

 accessible for visitors, being much out of the way of steamers and coaches. 

 The nearest port of call for steamers is Arisaig, which is, therefore, the 

 usual landing-place for visitors to this district. 



The road leading from Tarbet Inn to Loch Morar is formed through 

 what appears to be a * fault ' in the schistoze rocks that form the barrier 

 between Loch Nevis and Loch Morar; this road gradually rises to a 

 height of about 200 feet, then descending towards Loch Morar, it con- 

 tinues westward along the north side and round the lower or west end of 

 the loch, and thence to Arisaig. This is the road by which the postman 

 from Arisaig reaches Tarbet Inn. I understand he comes three times a 

 week to the inn during the summer, and twice a week during the winter 

 months. Tarbet Inn is thus the postal terminus in this district. A little 

 sheltered bay in Loch Morar, opposite Tarbet Bay, Loch Nevis, is called 

 South Tarbet Bay. Along the north side of Loch Morar, from South 

 Tarbet Bay eastward, there is no road deserving the name : there is, 

 indeed, a kind of pathway, but of such a break-neck character that it 

 requires some experience and ' nerve ' to traverse it safely. There appears 

 to be no road along the whole of the south side, with the exception of a 

 pathway similar to that described. 



Loch Morar is justly described as 'a large and beautiful loch amid 

 ' magnificent scenery ; ' * it lies nearly due east and west, between stupen- 

 dous ridges of rocks, sparsely clothed with vegetation, and which, in 

 many places, rise precipitously from the water's edge to summits of over 

 1000 feet in height, and in one or two instances to summits of over 

 2000 feet in height, at a distance of less than a half to three-quarters of a 

 mile from the edge of the loch. Towards the lower end the sides, though 

 rugged, are less steep and precipitous. At the upper end three streams 



* Sportsman's Guide to the Rivers, Lochs, Moors, and Deer Forests of Scotland, 

 September 1890, p. 220. 



