THE FRESH- WATER LOCHS OF SCOTLAND. 245 
of Shetland, measuring miles in a straight line between the extreme 
points. The maximum breadth, in the middle, is nearly half a mile. 
The loch forms a simple basin, very shallow near the north end. The 
bottom slopes very gradually down to 20 feet, after which the slope is 
steeper. The area over 30 feet deep is very narrow, and includes a very 
small area of over 40 feet founded on a single sounding of 41 feet. The 
superficial area is 213 acres, or one-third of a square mile, and the volume 
of water, 111 millions of cubic feet, shows the loch to be the third largest 
in Shetland. The area drained, including the Loch of Brow, is nearly 6 
square miles. The principal streams entering the loch are that from the 
Loch of Brow, the Burn of Hillwell near the south end, and the Burn of 
Scousburgh in the north. The outflow is though a narrow bar, the Beach 
of Spiggie, The surface was only 4*0 feet above the level of the sea on 
July 3, 1903, as compared with 3 8 found by the Ordnance Survey on 
October 24, 1900. 
The temperature was uniform throughout, viz. 56°*8 Fahr. 
Loch of Brough (see Plate XCV.) is a very small loch towards the 
west side of Bressay. It is the upper loch in the Setter basin, and lies at 
an elevation of 75T feet between two low hills. This elevation was 
determined on June 30, 1903, when the water was very low, and liable to 
rise 3 feet higher; when visited by the Ordnance Survey officers on June 
14, 1876, the level was 77'6 feet above the sea. It is of oblong form, 
measuring nearly one-third of a mile from north to south, by one-eighth of 
a mile in greatest breadth, at the north end. It is flat-bottomed, with a 
mean depth of 2 feet, and a maximum of 4 feet. The area is 19 acres, 
the volume 2 millions of cubic feet, and the drainage area is half a square 
mile. A small burn flows a quarter of a mile north into the Loch of 
Setter. There is a deposi.^ of peat and sand on the south-east end of the 
loch. The loch was lowered by a drain some years ago, in order to allow 
carts to pass along the shore. The surface temperature was 55°*6 Fahr. 
Loch of Setter (see Plate XCV.) is a very small loch close to the 
shore of the Voe of Cullingsburgh, on the east side of Bressay, at a height 
of 43'2 feet above the sea. This elevation was found both by the Lake 
Survey on June 30, 1903, and by the Ordnance Survey on June 14, 1876 ; 
this is practically the lowest level, and the water may rise 3 feet higher. 
It is almost circular, measuring one-fifth of a mile in greatest diameter. 
It is in all respects by far the smallest loch in Shetland. Its greatest 
depth is 2 feet, and its mean depth 1 foot ; the surface area is 14 acres, and 
the volume of water, half a million cubic feet, is one-third of that of the 
Loch of Brough, the nearest to it in size. The drainage area, which 
includes the Loch of Brough, is rather more than a square mile. When 
surveyed the loch was much overgrown with weeds. The surface' 
temperature was 56°*3 Fahr. 
