Loch Ness | Location, Depth, & Facts - Britannica

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External Websites

• World Lake Database - Loch Ness
• BBC - Concerns over Loch Ness' falling water levels

Loch Ness lake, Scotland, United Kingdom Ask Anything Homework Help Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

Loch Ness, lake, lying in the Highland council area, Scotland. With a depth of 788 feet (240 metres) and a length of about 23 miles (36 km), Loch Ness has the largest volume of fresh water in Great Britain. It lies in the Glen Mor—or Great Glen, which bisects the Highlands—and forms part of the system of waterways across Scotland that civil engineer Thomas Telford linked by means of the Caledonian Canal (opened 1822).

The watershed of Loch Ness covers more than 700 square miles (1,800 square km) and comprises several rivers, including the Oich and the Enrick. Its outlet is the River Ness, which flows into the Moray Firth at Inverness. Seiches (surface oscillations), caused by differential heating, are common on the loch. The sharp rise and fall of the level of the loch is one reason for the scanty flora of the waters; another reason is the great depths of the loch near the shoreline. The abyssal fauna is also sparse.

Like some other very deep lochs in Scotland and Scandinavia, Loch Ness is said to be inhabited by an aquatic monster. Many sightings of the so-called Loch Ness monster have been reported, and the possibility of its existence—perhaps in the form of a solitary survivor of the long-extinct plesiosaurs—continues to intrigue many.

Britannica Quiz Water and its Varying Forms The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.