Castle Loch is a shallow

eutrophic Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplank ...

loch covering an area of around 100 hectares in the town of

Lochmaben Lochmaben ( Gaelic: ''Loch Mhabain'') is a small town and civil parish in Scotland, and site of a castle. It lies west of Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway. By the 12th century the Bruce family had become the local landowners and, in the 14th ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Ki ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. It lies to the west of

Mochrum Loch Mochrum Loch is a large, irregular shaped, shallow, freshwater loch in Dumfries and Galloway, in the Southern Uplands of south-west Scotland. It lies approximately west of the town of Wigtown Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùi ...

and has 2 islets. The ruined

Lochmaben Castle Lochmaben Castle is a ruined castle in the town of Lochmaben, the feudal Lordship of Annandale, and the united county of Dumfries and Galloway. It was built by Edward I in the 14th century replacing an earlier motte and bailey castle, and later ...

lies at the southern end of the loch.

Survey

The loch was surveyed in 1903 by James Murray and later charted as part of Sir John Murray's ''Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland 1897-1909''.

Wildlife and conservation

Castle Loch is an important over-wintering location for the

pink-footed goose The pink-footed goose (''Anser brachyrhynchus'') is a goose which breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and western Denmark. The n ...

and the goosander. It has been recognised as a wetland of international importance under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

, and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

References

Lochs of Dumfries and Galloway Freshwater lochs of Scotland Ramsar sites in Scotland Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Dumfries and Galloway Wetlands of Scotland {{Scotland-SSSI-stub