THE FEESH-AVATER LOCHS OF SCOTLAND. 
Ill 
are rocky. The length, in a straight line joining the ends, is 1 J miles, the 
maximum breadth, near the upper end, a quarter of a mile. The eastern 
basin is largest and deepest, with steep sides and nearly flat centre, and 
the maximum depth of 55 feet. The middle basin is similar, but smaller, 
and has a depth of 48 feet. Between these basins the depth is only 22 
feet. The western basin is separated from the middle basin by a strait, in 
which the depth is only 12 feet — the slojie is less steej), and the maximum 
depth is 36 feet. Another constriction, with a depth of 10 feet, separates 
a small expansion at the west end of the loch, with a depth of 23 feet. 
The area of the loch is about 144 acres, or nearly a quarter of a square 
mile, the mean depth is over 18 feet, and the volume of water 116 millions 
of cubic feet. The drainage area is extensive, measuring 14f square miles, 
and comprises the whole southern slope of the Merrick, the northern slope 
of the Lamachan, and a number of lochs to the north-east, which were not 
surveyed. 
The principal streams feeding the loch are the Pulnabrick and Buchan 
burns on the north, and the Gairland and Glenhead burns, which unite 
and enter the head of the loch. The Water of Trool flows out to the 
south-west, and joins the Minnoch about 2 miles distant. There is a 
sluice at the outflow. The surface on August 14, 1903, was 246‘35 
feet above sea-level, or rather higher than the elevation determined by 
the Ordnance Survey on June 26, 1894, viz. 245'9 feet. The temperature 
varied over 2° from surface to bottom, thus 
Surface .. 
10 feet . . 
20 „ .. 
30 „ .. 
40 „ .. 
50 „ .. 
58^-3 Fahr. 
58°-2 „ 
57°-0 „ 
66°-8 „ 
56°-5 „ 
56°-0 „ 
From the following table it will be seen that in the fifteen lochs under 
consideration 594 soundings were taken, and that the aggregate area of 
the water surface is over 2 square miles, so that the average number 
of soundings per square mile of surface is 280. The aggregate volume of 
water contained in the lochs is estimated at 527 millions of cubic feet. 
The area drained by these lochs is nearly 35^ square miles, or 16 J 
times the area of the lochs. 
