202 THE FRESH-WATER LOCHS OF SCOTLAND 
mountains. A sandbank in the middle of the loch is covered with 
Heleocharis palustris. A limited number of other plants also occur 
here, but all those that grow on the shores are very much dwarfed. 
Lochan Diota is a small pool at an elevation of about 1000 feet, 
situated to the north-west of Loch Lochy. It is shallow, and is 
overgrown with a number of plants common to this Area. 
Loch Lundie is north of Glen Garry, at an elevation of 445 feet 
above sea-level. The shores are flat and peaty, sandy, or stony. 
The water is peaty, and there is an abundant flora. Marsh plants 
grow luxuriantly on its western shores, but the eastern shores are 
comparatively bare ; the western side is also well wooded. A large 
island on the east is covered with dwarf birch and alder. Some of 
the shallow bays on the west are entirely filled with Phragmites 
communis, others with Scirpus lacustris. Isoetes lacustris is extremely 
abundant, and carpets the bottom from S to 20 feet deep; in the 
deeper water the specimens were frequently 18 inches long. A 
considerable variety of other plants occurs both in the water and 
upon the shores. 
Lochan Doire Chada is a small peaty loch situated between 
Loch Lundie and Loch Oich. The west side is composed entirely 
of a deep and dangerous bog, sparsely covered with dwarf Phragmites 
communis, Carex rostrata, etc. The east side is stony and destitute 
of plants, whilst quantities of the dead stems of Phragmites had been 
washed high on the shore by winter storms. This loch aflbrds an 
excellent example of the difference between an eastern and a western 
shore due to winds. A very restricted variety of plants grows at 
this loch. 
On the west of Loch Ness, among the mountains, there are 
a great many lochs at an average elevation of about 1200 feet ; some, 
however, are over 1600 feet above sea-level. These fall naturally 
into groups, because the different series are separated by deep glens. 
They may be arranged as follows : — Taking the glens as boundary 
lines, there are the lochs on the mountains south of Glen Moriston, 
those on the mountains between Glen Moriston and Glen Urquhart, 
Loch Meiklie in Glen Urquhart, and the lochs on the mountains 
north of it. The lochs of these groups very closely resemble one 
another, both in general physical features and in their floras ; it does 
not, therefore, seem necessary to describe each loch separately, 
especially as most of them are of but little botanical interest, con- 
sequently they will be described in groups. 
South of Glen Moriston. — All the lochs situated in this group 
have peaty water. Their western shores usually have a more or less 
extensive area of marsh, upon which flourish plants common to the 
Area. Their eastern shores are universally stony or rocky, and 
