Loch Alsh

File:Lochalsh.jpg

The loch runs inland about {{convert|12|km|mi|frac=2|abbr=off}} from Kyle of Lochalsh to Ardelve. From there Loch Duich continues southeast another {{convert|10|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} to Shiel Bridge while Loch Long runs deeper into the mountains to the northeast. A narrow strait from the south of Loch Alsh leads to the Sound of Sleat that separates the Isle of Skye from the mainland. The loch is overlooked by Sgurr na Coinnich, which rises to {{convert|739|m|ft}} on Skye. The mainland hills to the north reach {{convert|452|m|ft|abbr=on}} at the summit of Auchtertyre Hill and {{convert|344|m|ft|abbr=on}} on Sgurr Mor but are generally lower and slope gradually down to the west.{{Citation | year = 2007 | title = Loch Alsh, Glen Shiel and Loch Hourn | isbn = 978-0-319-22991-0 | publisher=Ordnance Survey}}

The ancient stronghold of Inverness is {{convert|50|mi|km|abbr=on}} directly to the east over the Northwest Highlands.

The climate is temperate. Annual rainfall is around {{convert|2300|mm|in|abbr=on}} per year and temperatures range from {{convert|0–7|C|F}} in January to {{convert|10–18|C|F}} in July and August. On any given day of the year rain is more likely than not.[http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/sites/kinlochewe.html "Kinlochewe 1971–2000 averages"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019065038/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/sites/kinlochewe.html |date=19 October 2011 }} Met Office. Retrieved 23 November 2008 Much of the countryside is moorland or pasture but there are lowland areas of deciduous forest with native birchwoods and oakwoods and some conifer plantations.[http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/recreation.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/ScotlandHighlandNoForestBalmacara "Balmacara"] Forestry Commission. Retrieved 23 November 2008. At one time the forest would have been more extensive, but the early inhabitants converted parts of it to crofts (small farms) and when the Highland Clearances destroyed the crofts the land was kept as pasture.[http://www.lochalsh.co.uk/index.html "Lochalsh & The Isle of Skye Tourist Guide"] www.lochalsh.co.uk Retrieved 23 November 2008

The loch witnessed the last invasion on the UK by Spanish forces in 1719.{{Cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/10208147/Enemies-at-the-gates-the-73-invasions-of-Britain-since-1066.html | title=Enemies at the gates: The 73 'invasions' of Britain since 1066| date=2013-07-29| last1=Copping| first1=Jasper}}

The loch lies between hills just east of the Moine Thrust Belt, an unusual geological structure that runs from the Sleat peninsula in Skye on a northeast diagonal to Loch Eriboll on the north coast of Scotland.[http://www.see.leeds.ac.uk/structure/mtb/background/background.htm Moine Thrust Belt – general information] University of Leeds School of Earth and Environment. Retrieved 24 November 2008 In this area, geologists found in 1907 that younger rocks from the west lay below the older rocks of the east, a discovery that helped lead to the modern theory of mountain building. The Lewisian gneisses around Loch Alsh were formed in the Precambrian period, about 2,800 million years ago, while the volcanic rocks, gabbro and granite that make up most of Skye, and that in some places lie under the older gneisses, are just 55 million years old.{{Citation | last = Rayner | first =Dorothy H. | year = 1981 | title = The stratigraphy of the British Isles | isbn = 978-0-521-29961-9 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge }} The ancient metamorphic rocks around Loch Alsh have been heavily eroded over the years, most recently by a series of ice ages.[http://www.volcanicscotland.com/Skye%20Minerals_Geology.htm "Minerals from Skye: Geology"]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} www.volcanicscotland.com. Retrieved 23 November 2008

File:Flame Shell - Scotland.jpg

In 2012, a large colony of flame shells was discovered in the loch following a Marine Scotland commissioned survey, carried out by Heriot-Watt University. The reef is thought to consist of over 100 million flame shells covering {{convert|75|ha|acre}}, making it the largest known reef of its kind in the UK.{{cite web |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2012/12/Flame-shells27122012 |title=Flame shell reef discovery |publisher=Marine Scotland |date=27 December 2012 |accessdate=27 December 2012}}{{cite news |title=Marine Scotland survey uncovers 'huge' flame shell bed |work=BBC News|date=26 December 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-20838775 |accessdate=2012-12-27}} In order to protect the flame shell beds the loch has since 2014 formed part of a Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area (NCMPA).{{cite web|url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/10416|title=Lochs Duich, Long and Alsh MPA(NC)|publisher=NatureScot|accessdate=11 October 2020}}

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Loch Alsh}}

• [http://www.see.leeds.ac.uk/structure/mtb/conservation/conservation.htm Geological conservation in the Moine Thrust Belt]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050320224957/http://www.highlandbiodiversity.com/htm/counties/skye_lochalsh/skye_lochalsh.pdf The Skye & Lochalsh Biodiversity Action Plan]
• [http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/LCA/skyelochalsh.asp Stanton, C. 1996. Skye and Lochalsh landscape assessment. Scottish Natural Heritage Review No 71]

• [http://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/node/131011 Lochalsh War Memorial]

{{Marine Protected Areas in Scotland}}

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Category:Sea lochs of Scotland

Category:Lochs of Highland (council area)

Category:Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas of Scotland