Loch Teàrnait, also known as Loch Tearnait or Loch Ternate, is a small, lowland, freshwater

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 ...

on the Ardtornish Estate on the Morvern peninsula in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

. It lies in an east to west direction and is approximately southeast of

Loch Arienas Loch Arienas is an extensive, lowland, freshwater loch on the Ardtornish Estate on the Morvern peninsula in the Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical r ...

and east of

Loch Aline Loch Aline (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Àlainn'') is a small salt water loch home to fish, birds and game, located in Morvern, Lochaber, Scotland. Key features of interest are Kinlochaline Castle, Ardtornish Castle and the Ardtornish estate located ...

. It is long and wide, and is at an altitude of . The average depth is and its maximum depth is . The loch was surveyed on 18 August 1904 by James Murray as part of Sir John Murray's ''Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland 1897-1909''. In the centre of the loch is a small, circular island which is thought to be the remains of a

crannog A crannog (; ga, crannóg ; gd, crannag ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes and estuarine waters of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were bu ...

. It is in diameter, built of timber and stone, and has two small inlets for boats. It is likely to have been occupied since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, and in local tradition it was said to have been used as a sanctuary for fugitives under the protection of the

Lords of the Isles The Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( gd, Triath nan Eilean or ) is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title w ...

. In 2009 the company Hydroplan began construction of a

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...

generating facility at the outflow of the loch. Power generation began in December 2012, and the scheme was officially opened in May 2013. In 2008, prior to construction of the hydro scheme, an

archaeological survey In archaeology, survey or field survey is a type of field research by which archaeologists (often landscape archaeologists) search for archaeological sites and collect information about the location, distribution and organization of past human c ...

was undertaken in and around the loch which documented 31 archaeological sites. The loch holds native wild brown trout and permits are required to fish the loch.

References

{{reflist Teàrnait Teàrnait