356 
BATHYMETRICAL SURVEY OF 
Arkaig) is 12 miles in length; five of them exceed 100 feet in depth, 
and three exceed 300 feet in depth, while one of them (Loch Lochy) 
exceeds 500 feet in depth. It has been found convenient to include 
also two small lochs which drain directly into Loch Linnhe, viz., 
Lochan Limn da-Bhra on the east and Loch nan Gabhar on the west. 
Loch nan Gabhar is in Argyllshire, while all the remaining lochs are 
situated in Inverness-shire. The relative positions of the lochs and 
rivers within the area under discussion are shown in the little index 
map (Fig. 51), from which it will be seen that Loch Arkaig drains into 
Loch Lochy by the short river Arkaig, while the other lochs within 
the basin drain into the river Spean, which joins the river Lochy 
shortly after its exit from Loch Lochy, the junction of the two rivers 
being marked by the pretty falls of Mucomir. 
The Lochy basin, only a small portion of which has been mapped 
by the Geological Survey, lies wholly within the region of the crystal- 
line schists of the Central Highlands. It is intersected by the powerful 
north-east and south-west fault that traverses the Great Glen from 
Inverness to the shores of Loch Linnhe. In the area west of this 
dislocation the rocks, so far as known, consist of quartz-biotite granu- 
lites and muscovite-biotite schists, which are believed to represent 
altered sediments. These are traversed by acid and basic intrusions 
and numerous veins of granite and pegmatite. 
East of the Great Glen several of the metamorphic groups of the 
Eastern Highlands are represented, including the Perthshire quartzite, 
black schist, limestone, Ardrishaig phyllites, and the associated quart- 
zite, the beds striking generally in a north-east and south-west direction. 
The schists are pierced by various masses of igneous rock, of which 
the most important is the large intrusion of granite forming the lower 
part of Ben Nevis. It is capped by andesitic lavas, breccias, and tuffs, 
presumably of Lower Old Bed Sandstone age. 
Loch Lochy (see Plate LXXXIII.). — Loch Lochy is the southern- 
most of the chain of lochs occupying the Great Glen which were 
utilized in forming the Caledonian Canal. Its southern end is about 
8 miles north of Fort William. It is a straight loch, running nearly 
north-east to south-west. In form Loch Lochy is a narrow triangle, 
with the apex at the north end, gradually widening southward to near 
Bunarkaig, where the greatest breadth is found, after which it rapidly 
narrows for the remaining 2 miles to the outflow at Gairlochy. A good 
road runs along the eastern shore, a rough cart-road on the western 
side, and several stations of the Invergarry and Fort- Augustus railway 
now give easy access to the loch on the east side. The surroundings are 
wild, gloomy, and solitary (see Fig. 52). No village is found on its 
shores, an occasional house being passed on the east side, while the 
west side is uninhabited, save for one or two distant cots. 
