Loch Merkland is a large long inland

loch ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots and Irish language, Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is Cognate, cognate with the Manx language, Manx lough, Cornish language, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh language, Welsh w ...

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

ern

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 the ...

. It is located adjacent to the A838 main road which provides almost all access to the Loch and the Merkland Lodge to the south of it. There are many trails and hiking paths in the area, as per usual in 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 ...

. On the Banks just above the Lodge there's also Merkland Cottage meaning there are residents around the Loch.

Geography

Loch Merkland is on the A838 13.5 miles south of

Laxford Bridge The Laxford Bridge is a stone arch bridge in Sutherland, Scotland which carries the A838 across the River Laxford north to Rhiconich and Durness. The bridge was built about 1834 by the Dukes of Sutherland – the road from Lairg, one of th ...

and more than 20 miles north of Lairg. Loch Merkland is in a very mountainous region with peaks on all sides and the Lake and its main inflow and outflow being located in a large valley between the mountains. Nearby Peaks include Creag Nan Suibheag, Meallan Liath Beag and Meallan Liath Mor. Smaller peaks which do not classify as mountains are also in the area and each of these larger ones all have rivers and streams which directly flow into Loch Merkland. Southbound, flowing out of Loch Merkland is the Merkland river which flows into Loch a' Ghriama which is directly linked to

Loch Shin Loch Shin ( gd, Loch Sìn, ) is a loch in the Scottish North West Highlands. To the south is the small town of Lairg. The loch, the largest in Sutherland, runs from the north-west to the south-east and is long. In the 1950s, the level of the loc ...

. The Loch is Located at an elevation of 108.8 metres above sea level.

Archeology

A site where an ancient furnace was dug up was situated very near to Loch Merkland, and much questioning had arisen about where and when it was made. Inquires to Locals and further research proved unsuccessful.

Tourism

The Merkland Lodge provides a small tourism industry for the area as it is a location where people can stay while either using the lake itself or hiking the mountains around it. Fishing is also popular there with trout being the most common catch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merkland, Loch Lochs of Sutherland Freshwater lochs of Scotland