Linn (geology)

{{Short description|Scottish geological water feature}}

File:LinnOfDee-pjt.jpg

In Scotland and northern England, a Linn is a geographical water feature, a watercourse that has cut through a shelf of hard rock creating a narrow (usually), steep-sided crevice (fracture) through which it runs.

Typically one named after a river or area can have application even for more than one such feature.

The photograph of the Linn of Dee illustrates the attributes of a typical 'Linn'.

In Gordon (1925) the author describing a walk down Glen Avon in the Cairngorms mentions two Linns on the River Avon - first:

{{quote|A couple of miles below Faindouran Lodge the A'an is spanned by a bridge. Here the river is narrow, with foaming rapids and deep pools where salmon lie of a September day. Beside the Linn, on the damp granite ledges ...|Gordon (1925) (p61)}}

Second:

{{quote|At the Linn beside Inchrory the A'an thundered through its rocky gorge. Before midsummer salmon and grilse reach the deep pools of the Linn ...|Gordon (1925) (p62-63)}}

A linn may also refer to a waterfall or a pool at the foot of a waterfall,[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/linn Free Dictionary.com - Linn] with the derivation a confusion of Scots Gaelic linne (pool) and Old English {{lang|ang|hlynn}} (torrent).