Loch Ericht (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

, ''Loch Eireachd'') is a freshwater loch on the border between the former Perthshire, now

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...

and the former Inverness-shire, now

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 ...

Council areas of

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 has a north-east to south-west orientation. The village of

Dalwhinnie Dalwhinnie ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Dail Chuinnidh'' "meeting place") is a small village in the Scottish Highlands. Dalwhinnie is located at the head of Glen Truim and the north-east end of Loch Ericht, on the western edge of the Cairngorms Natio ...

lies at the north east end of the loch. Loch Ericht is the tenth largest freshwater lake in Scotland and has a good reputation for its trout fishing and Ferox trout. Loch Ericht occupies a major glacial breach cut through the former main Grampian divide from Ben Nevis over Ben Alder to the Cairngorms. The breach exploits the Loch Ericht Fault, a major feature of the Caledonian Orogeny, parallel to the Great Glen Fault and other NE-SW faults. The preglacial col in the former divide at Beinn Bheoil - Stob an Aonaich Mhoir is estimated by Linton to have been at 650m asl. With the loch bed being at 200m asl, ice has excavated a trench at least 450 m deep. The glacier has carried erratic boulders of Rannoch granite far down the flanks of Strath Spey. A secondary breach was cut between The Fara (Am Faireamh) and Geal Charn (Drumochter) thus beheading the Pattack catchment. The present watershed has been displaced about ten miles north-east to Dalwhinnie The loch is part of a hydro-electric scheme and is dammed at both ends. Water flows into the northern end via the Cuaich Aqueduct. The southern end is linked to a hydro-electric power station at

Loch Rannoch Loch Rannoch (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Raineach'') is a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is over long in a west–east direction with an average width of about , and is deepest at its eastern end, reaching a depth of .Tom Weir. ...

by a pipeline abstracting most of the flow of the long

River Ericht The River Ericht ( gd, Abhainn Eireachd) is a river in Perthshire, Scotland formed from the confluence of the rivers Blackwater and Ardle at Bridge of Cally. It runs south for around 10 miles before discharging into the River Isla, and eventu ...

. The low northern barrage is located on the former natural watershed, raising the natural level of the loch slightly. The reservoir volume is 230 million m³ of water with a water length of . The Corrievarkie

pumped-storage hydroelectricity Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential ...

project is planned to hold 22 million cubic metres of water in the hills above the lake. If built, it would have a power of 600 MW for 24 hours. Loch Ericht is surrounded by a number of Munros, including

Ben Alder Ben Alder ( gd, Beinn Eallair) is the highest mountain in the remote area of the Scottish Highlands between Loch Ericht and Glen Spean. It rises to , making it the 25th highest Munro. The vast summit plateau is home of one of Britain's highest ...

(1148 metres),

Geal-Chàrn Geal-Chàrn (Scottish Gaelic: White Peak) is a mountain in the Highlands of Scotland, 14 kilometres North East of Corrour railway station See also * Ben Nevis * List of Munro mountains * Mountains and hills of Scotland Scotland is the most ...

(1132 metres).Heights of Ben Alder and Geal Charn, Mountain Days
and the Drumochter hills on the SE side. Traditional hunting areas border the loch. These are called forests; the chief of which is Ben Alder Forest.

Mapping

Loch Ericht is covered by *

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

Explorer map 393 (1:25000) Ben Alder, Loch Ericht and Loch Laggan () and * Ordnance Survey Landranger map 42 (1:50000) Glen Garry and Loch Rannoch ().

References

Lochs of Highland (council area) Freshwater lochs of Scotland Lochs of Perth and Kinross LEricht {{PerthKinross-geo-stub