Loch Hourn ( gd, Loch Shubhairne) is a sea loch which separates the peninsulas of Glenelg to the north and

Knoydart Knoydart (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cnòideart'') is a peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. Knoydart is sandwiched between Lochs Nevis and Hourn — often translated as "Loch Heaven" (from the Gaelic ''Loch Néimh'') an ...

to the south, on the west coast of Scotland.

Geography

Loch Hourn runs inland from the

Sound of Sleat The Sound of Sleat is a narrow sea channel off the western coast of Scotland. It divides the Sleat peninsula on the south-east side of the Isle of Skye from Morar, Knoydart and Glenelg on the Scottish mainland. The Sound extends in a south-sout ...

, opposite the island of

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

, for 22 km (c. 14 miles) to the head of the loch at

Kinloch Hourn Kinloch Hourn is a small settlement at the end of Loch Hourn, in the West Highlands of Scotland. The name comes from the Gaelic, Ceann Loch Shubhairne, for "the head of Loch Hourn". Kinloch Hourn is at the end of of single-track road, which runs ...

. At the entrance, its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with the Sound of Sleat, it is 5 km (3 miles) wide, becoming less than 2 km wide for much of its length, with successive narrows in the upper reaches and reducing to a 300-metre-wide basin at the head. Sometimes described as the most fjord-like of the sea

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 ...

s of northwest Scotland, it is steep-sided, with

Beinn Sgritheall Beinn Sgritheall or Beinn an Sgrithill (), also anglicized Ben Sgriol, is the highest mountain on the Glenelg peninsula in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It is a Munro with a height of . The main approach is via Arnisdale on the shores o ...

to the north and

Ladhar Bheinn Ladhar Bheinn is the highest mountain in the Knoydart region of the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most westerly Munro on the Scottish mainland. The mountain may be climbed from Barrisdale to the northeast or Inverie to the south. From Barris ...

rising from the southern shore. The sea floor has been shaped by glaciation into five progressively deeper basins with relatively shallow sills; combined with the narrow and sheltered aspect of the loch and the high local rainfall, these result in an unusually wide variation of salinity and sea habitats over the length of the loch. The loch is navigable by ships as far as Barisdale Bay. Small boats can reach Kinloch Hourn, but these upper reaches are dependent on tide and subject to strong currents. All of the loch is subject to fierce and erratic winds. There is no road access to most of the shoreline. Apart from a few isolated cottages, the only community is

Arnisdale Arnisdale ( gd, Àrnasdal) is a hamlet in the historic county of Inverness-shire in the local authority area of Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of Loch Hourn, around down a single-track road from Glenelg. It has a permanent po ...

, with a population of around 30. Kinloch Hourn is 36 km (22 miles) on single track road from the A87 near

Invergarry Invergarry ( gd, Inbhir Garadh) is a village in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Great Glen, near where the River Garry, Inverness-shire, River Garry flows into Loch Oich. Geography Near the centre of the village is th ...

. Local economy is small scale. There is a fish farm near the mouth of the loch; a few local shell fishing boats; a few jobs dependent on the surrounding shooting estates and some local income from tourism. A small passenger ferry/excursion boat which ran from

to other parts of the loch, and provided access to the north shores of

, ceased business in 2011.

Footnotes

Hourn Hourn {{Highland-geo-stub