Loch Ness

Loch Ness is a loch in the Scottish Highlands. It is also on the Great Glen Fault and part of the Caledonian Canal.

Loch Ness
With Urquhart Castle in the foreground
Loch Ness
Location	Scottish Highlands
Coordinates	57°18′N 4°27′W
Type	freshwater loch, dimictic, oligotrophic[1]
Primary inflows	River Oich/Caledonian Canal, River Moriston, River Foyers, River Enrick, River Coiltie
Primary outflows	River Ness
Catchment area	1,770 km2 (685 sq mi)
Basin countries	Scotland
Max. length	36.2 km (22.5 mi)
Max. width	2.7 km (1.7 mi)
Surface area	56 km2 (21.8 sq mi)
Average depth	132 m (433 ft)
Max. depth	226.96 m (124.10 fathoms; 744.6 ft)
Water volume	7.5 km3 (1.8 cu mi)
Surface elevation	15.8 m (52 ft)
Islands	1 (Cherry Island)
Settlements	Abriachan, Dores, Drumnadrochit, Foyers, Fort Augustus, Inverfarigaig, Invermoriston, Lochend; Whitebridge.

Geography

Loch Ness is 36 kilometres long and only 1.5 kilometres wide. It is the second largest Scottish loch by surface area at 56.4 km² (21.8 sq mi), after Loch Lomond. Because of its great depth, it is the largest by volume. Its deepest point is 230 m (755 ft).^[2][3] This is deeper than any other loch except Loch Morar.

It has more freshwater than all the lakes in England and Wales combined,^[3] and is the largest body of water on the Great Glen Fault, which runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south. In popular legend, it is the home of the "Loch Ness Monster", a mythological creature in Scottish folklore.

Loch Ness, April 2024.

Urquhart Castle ruin above Loch Ness, Scotland, April 2024.

Urquhart Castle ruin – Lord's Hall. April 2024.