Loch Assynt () is a

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

loch ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

, Scotland, north-east of

Lochinver Lochinver (''Loch an Inbhir'' in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic) is a village at the head of the sea loch Loch Inver, on the coast in the Assynt district of Sutherland, Scottish Highlands, Highland, Scotland. A few miles north-east is Loch Assynt which ...

. Situated in a spectacular setting between the heights of

Canisp Canisp (Scottish Gaelic: ''Canasp'') is a mountain in the far north west of Scotland. It is situated in the parish of Assynt, in the county of Sutherland, north of the town of Ullapool. Canisp reaches a height of and qualifies as a Corbett a ...

Quinag Quinag () is an 808 m high mountain range in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands, with an undulating series of peaks along its Y-shaped crest. The name Quinag is an anglicisation of the Gaelic name ''Cuinneag'', a milk pail, reflecting its ...

, and , it receives the outflow from Lochs Awe, , and Loch Leitir Easaidh. It discharges into the sea at

Loch Inver Loch Inver is a sea loch in Assynt, Sutherland and is on the northwest coast of Scotland. The loch meets the coastal embayment of Enard Bay at the north end and The Minch, where it meets Soyea Island at its mouth. The village of Lochinver ...

, via the river Inver. The general trend of the loch is west-northwest and east-southeast, while the western end bends sharply at Loch Assynt lodge to the southwest.Murray and Pullar (1910
"Lochs of the Inver Basin"
Page 149, Volume II, Part I. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 16 July 2021 The loch is long, and about in maximum breadth. The total area is approximately and its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

is over . The total volume of the loch is approximately and the maximum depth is . There is excellent fishing for

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

, sea-trout, and

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

Ardvreck Castle Ardvreck Castle is a castle, now ruinous, standing on a rocky promontory in Loch Assynt, Sutherland, Scotland, UK. The structure dates from about 1490 and is associated with the then landowners, the Macleods of Assynt. History of Ardvreck The ...

, once held by the MacLeods and Mackenzies, occupies a promontory on the north shore, west of

Inchnadamph Inchnadamph is a hamlet in Assynt, Sutherland, Scotland. The name is an anglicisation of the Gaelic name Innis nan Damh meaning "meadow of the stags". Assynt is a remote area with a low population density. Inchnadamph contains a few houses, a l ...

. The elevation of the loch's surface above sea level varies with the levels of rainfall but has been measured as . File:Loch Assynt - geograph.org.uk - 62817.jpg, The western end of Loch Assynt with

in the distance File:Loch Assynt from Cnoc an Lochain Fheoir - geograph.org.uk - 546799.jpg, Loch Assynt from Cnoc an Lochain Fheoir File:2011 Schotland Ardvreck Castle 2-06-2011 17-53-21.png,

The Mermaid of Assynt

Whispered amongst the locals of Inchnadamph, the area surrounding the castle, legend tells of MacLeod's lost daughter, Eimhir, and her continued presence at Loch Assynt. Instead of jumping to her death, they believe Eimhir plunged into the caverns of the loch and, hiding from the devil to whom she was promised, made a new home beneath the water's surface, becoming the elusive 'mermaid of Assynt'. The locals also use this legend to account for natural changes in the landscape. When the loch's water rise above their normal levels, legend tells that these are Eimhir's tears mourning her life lost on the land. Some even claim to have sighted her weeping on the rocks, her body now transformed into half woman, half sea creature. Some contest her form, instead calling her

Selkie Selkies are mythological creatures that can shapeshift between seal and human forms by removing or putting on their seal skin. They feature prominently in the oral traditions and mythology of various cultures, especially those of Celtic and ...

, the Nordic mythological figure of the sea, who must first shed tears into the water in order to become visible again to the human eye. The legend also accounts for the geology of Inchnadamph. Clootie, infuriated by the broken promise of marriage summoned meteoric rocks from Chaos to obliterate Inchnadamph and MacLeod's kingdom. It is thought that this legend bears some relationship with the scientific findings that indicate north west Scotland was struck by an object from space around 1.2 billion years ago. Geologists from Aberdeen university described the event; " massive impact would have melted rocks and thrown up an enormous cloud of vapour that scattered material over a large part of the region around Ullapool. The crater was rapidly buried by sandstone which helped to preserve the evidence." These legends are invoked to offer some mythical explanation for the unique geological and topographical character of Inchnadamph. Another version of the tale of the mermaid of Assynt relates to the creation of the

Moine Thrust belt The Moine Thrust Belt or Moine Thrust Zone is a linear tectonic feature in the Scottish Highlands which runs from Loch Eriboll on the north coast southwest to the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye. The thrust belt consists of a series of thr ...

. Some believe Clootie's rage produced a tectonic rumbling from the earths core, resulting in the thrust westwards of the European plate, which is understood by geologists to account for the Moine Thrust belt.

Notes

References

* Murray, Sir John and Pullar, Laurence (1910) ''Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897-1909''. London; Challenger Office. {{DEFAULTSORT:Assynt Freshwater lochs of Scotland Inver catchment Lochs of Sutherland