Loch Sionascaig is a large irregular shaped, freshwater loch in the remote

Coigach Coigach () is a peninsula north of Ullapool, in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The area consists of a traditional crofting and fishing community of a couple of hundred houses located between mountain and shore on a peninsula ...

area of northern

Wester Ross Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to the ...

. It is located 5.5 miles southeast of the village of

Lochinver Lochinver (''Loch an Inbhir'' in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic) is a village that is located 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 northeast is Loc ...

and is situated within the Inverpolly Forest.

Geography

Loch Sionascaig is an area of outstanding natural beauty, that lies at the centre of the Inverpolly National Nature Reserve. It is surrounded by many other lochs with the large forested areas of Inverpolly Forest and Loch Lurgainn to the south. Also directly south is Loch an Doire Dhuibh which is connected by a narrow channel to Loch Sionascaig. To the southeast is the imposing peak of Cùl Beag and Drumrunie Forest. To the east is the large

Loch Veyatie Loch Veyatie (Gaelic: Loch Mheathadaidh) is a large freshwater loch in north-west Scotland. It stretches for 6 km north-westwards from the settlement of Elphin, and lies between Suilven and Cùl Mòr. The loch is located in an area known as ...

, to the northeast is the mountain of

Stac Pollaidh Stac Pollaidh (IPA: �s̪t̪ʰaʰkˈpʰɔɫ̪ais a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The peak displays a rocky crest of Torridonian sandstone, with many pinnacles and steep gullies. The ridge was exposed to weathering as a nunatak ...

and

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 ...

behind it. To the north west is Loch Ùidh Tarraigean and Loch na Dàil that Loch Sionasgaig drains through, reaching the River Polly that drains into Polly Bay. To the west are the large lochs of Loch Bad A' Ghaill and Loch Osgaig. Loch Sionascaig has numerous islands that are wooded. Eilean Mòr is the biggest and has a small hill that rises to 116m giving excellent views of the surrounding loch.

Fishing

Loch Sionascaig is a renowned fishing loch with trout of around 6oz in size caught in the shallows up to more than 16lbs in the deeps.

Academic study

Loch Sionascaig is one of the intestively academically studied lateglacial and

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

sites in Scotland. Types of analysis that have been undertaken at the site include

pollen analysis Palynology is the "study of dust" (from grc-gre, παλύνω, palynō, "strew, sprinkle" and ''-logy'') or of "particles that are strewn". A classic palynologist analyses particulate samples collected from the air, from water, or from deposits ...

diatom A diatom (Neo-Latin ''diatoma''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group comprising sev ...

analysis,

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

geochemistry Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the e ...

, peat stratigraphy and

radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was dev ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sionascaig, Loch Freshwater lochs of Scotland Polly Basin Lochs of Ross and Cromarty