The single name Lochan na h-Earba is applied to two lochs above (and to the south of)

Loch Laggan Loch Laggan is a freshwater loch situated approximately west of Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands. The loch has an irregular shape, runs nearly northeast to southwest and is approximately in length. It has an average depth of and is at its ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, close to the historic boundary between

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...

and

Badenoch Badenoch (; ) is a district of the Scottish Highlands centred on the upper reaches of the River Spey, above Strathspey. The name Badenoch means the drowned land, with most of the population living close to the River Spey or its tributaries ...

. It is thought that the two lochs once formed a single loch, but became separated by the build up

alluvial deposit Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

s from the Moy Burn (), which now joins the short watercourse that connects the two lochs.

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

maps of the area show a single name printed across both lochs. They occupy a narrow glen running southwest to northeast, and roughly parallel with Loch Laggan, from which they are separated by the Binnein Shuas range of hills. The

Munro A Munro (; ) is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevi ...

s of Geal Charn and Creag Pitridh are the highest peaks of the hills to the southeast.

, 1:50000 ''Landranger'' series. Sheet 42. Glen Garry and Loch Rannoch. The lochs lie on the Ardverikie Estate. They have been used as the location for several film and television productions, most frequently appearing regularly in the BBC series Monarch of the Glen, which was largely filmed in and around the Laggan area. Scenes from

Mrs Brown ''Mrs Brown'' (also released in cinemas as ''Her Majesty, Mrs Brown'') is a 1997 British drama film starring Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher, and Gerard Butler in his film debut. It was written by Jeremy Brock and d ...

and Outlander have also been filmed here. Both lochs were fully surveyed by the ''Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland'' in 1902.

Earba Storage project

A 1.8 GW / 40 GWh pumped-storage hydroelectricity project received planning consent in 2025, with Earba as the lower reservoir, and Loch Leamhain as the higher reservoir at altitude.

The west loch

The west loch sits an elevation of , and is in length. It has a surface area of , and contains of water. It has a maximum depth of , and a mean depth of . It is fed by numerous small burns, with the most significant being those descending from Beinn a' Chlachair.

The east loch

View along the eastern Lochan na h-Earba

The east loch is fed chiefly by the outflow from the west loch, to which it is connected by a short watercourse. It is slightly lower than the west loch, with an elevation of . It is the smaller of the two lochs, being long, with a surface area of , and contains of water. It has a maximum depth of , and a mean depth of .

References

{{reflist Laggan Laggan Lochy Basin