Loch Treig
Loch Treig is a deep freshwater loch situated in a steep-sided glen 20km east of Fort William, in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland.[1] While there are no roads alongside the loch, the West Highland Line follows its eastern bank.
| Loch Treig | |
|---|---|
 with Glen Spean | |
  Loch Treig | |
| Location | NM69099535 |
| Coordinates | 56.81399°N 4.72704°W |
| Type | freshwater loch, natural, reservoir |
| Basin countries | United Kingdom |
| Max. length | 8.43 km (5.24 mi) |
| Max. width | 0.63 km (0.39 mi) |
| Surface area | 743 ha (1,840 acres)[1] |
| Average depth | 207.34 ft (63.20 m)[1] |
| Max. depth | 436 ft (133 m)[1] |
| Water volume | 16,378,332,894.3 cu ft (463,782,740.00 m3)[1] |
| Shore length1 | 22 km (14 mi) [1] |
| Surface elevation | 251 m (823 ft)[1] |
| Max. temperature | 50.4 °F (10.2 °C) |
| Min. temperature | 50.3 °F (10.2 °C) |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Since 1929 Loch Treig has been a reservoir, retained behind the Treig Dam, forming part of the Lochaber hydro-electric scheme, which required diversion of the West Highland Railway.[2] The increase in water level following the construction of the dam submerged the hamlets of Kinlochtreig and Creaguaineach at the loch's southern end, which were stopping points on a cattle drovers' road along the Road to the Isles, which linked up Lochaber and the Inner Hebrides to markets in Perthshire in the south.
The 2022 documentary film The Hermit of Treig profiles Ken Smith, an elderly man who has spent much of his life living in a rustic cabin on the shores of Loch Treig.[3]
References
- "Loch Treig". Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER). Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- "Loch Treig, Dam". Canmore. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- Wendy Ide, "The Hermit of Treig – splendid isolation in the wilds of Scotland". The Guardian, 27 March 2022.