Much of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
is mountainous; western areas of the
Highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Albania
* Dukagjin Highlands
Armenia
* Armenian Highlands
Australia
*Sou ...
enjoy a wet climate. The more steeply plunging west coast highland rivers in particular are home to countless
waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...
s. Scotland has over 150 waterfalls, most are situated in the Highlands due to the landscape
Names of falls
The term ‘
linn’ is found throughout southern and eastern
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
(and in the northern English county of
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
). Confusingly 'linn' can denote either a fall or the plunge pool or indeed a confined stretch of water. ‘Spout’ is another common word found throughout England and Scotland for particular types of fall though it is usually replaced by ‘sput’ in the formerly
Gaelic-speaking parts of the latter.
The Gaelic word ‘eas’ is by far the most common term for a waterfall in the Scottish Highlands where the majority of place names are of Gaelic origin.
Highest waterfalls in Scotland
The list of highest waterfalls is sometimes debatable, due to the ambiguity of whether to measure the single largest fall or the sum of a series of falls, and many falls make false claims to the record.
This table measures waterfalls by tallest single drop.
Alphabetical tables of named waterfalls
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H, I, J
K
L
M, N
O, P, Q, R
S
T
U, V, W, X, Y, Z
References
Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 scale Explorer map series, sheets 309-470
Notes
External links
Map of Waterfalls of Scotland compiled from this list{{Scotland topics
*
Waterfalls
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in several w ...
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...