126 
BATHYMETRICAL SURVEY OF 
LOCHS OF THE NITH BASIN. 
The extensive basin of the river Nith, which in its upper j)art winds 
for so many miles through mountainous country, with several important 
tributary glens, is in this uj^per part almost entirely devoid of lochs. A 
few insignificant patches of water near New Cumnock were not surveyed. 
The five lochs surveyed are found on small tributaries in the lower part of 
the system, and on the west side of the river, the most northerly being 
Lochs Howie and Skae, which drain by the Cluden Water into the river 
Nith near Dumfries, while Lochrutton Loch, Lochaber Loch, and Loch 
Kindar lie within a few miles of the town of Dumfries, and the tribu- 
taries on which they are situated drain into the tidal portion of the river, 
where it expands into the Solway firth. 
Loch Howie (see Plate XLVL). — Loch Howie is a small, narrow loch 
on the north side of the Blackcraig hill, 18 miles west of Dumfries, and 
5 miles north-east of New Galloway village. The Black Craig rises 
steeply on tbe south to 1332 feet; on the north the hills are lower. The 
shores are of stony debris, with rock exposed at one part on the south. 
The loch trends from south-west to north-east, and is three-quarters of 
a mile in length, the maximum breadth near the east end being one-eighth 
of a mile, and the superficial area about 45 acres. There are two distinct 
basins, the western one having a maximum depth of 39 feet, and the eastern 
one 37 feet, separated by a shallow with only 7 feet on it. The mean depth 
is 16 feet, and the volume 31 million cubic feet. The drainage area is 
half a square mile. The outflow is by the Mid burn northward into the 
Blackmark burn, thence into the Castlefern burn and Cairn water and 
Cluden water. Loch Howie was surveyed on July 23, 1903, when the 
elevation was 75745 feet above the sea; on May 12, 1894, the Ordnance 
Survey found the elevation to be 757*9 feet. The variation in the level 
of 1 the water is small. 
Loch Shae (see Plate XL VI.). — A very small, subcircular loch to the 
north of Blackcraig hill, and half a mile east of Loch Howie. On 
the east the hill rises steeply to over 300 feet above the loch ; the west 
side is low. The maximum diameter from north to south is a quarter of 
a mile, the superficial area being about 20 acres. There is a small, deep 
area towards the west shore, enclosing the maximum depth of 35 feet. 
