Loch More

{{about|the loch in west Sutherland|the much smaller loch in Caithness|Loch More, Caithness}}

{{Infobox body of water

| name = Loch More

| image = View of Ben Stack from Loch More - geograph.org.uk - 532818.jpg

| caption =

| alt = Loch More

| image_bathymetry =

| caption_bathymetry =

| location = Sutherland, Scotland

| coords = {{coord|58|17|27|N|4|51|32|W|type:waterbody_region:GB|display=inline,title}}

| type = loch

| inflow =

| outflow = An Earachd

| catchment = {{convert|12|mi2|abbr=on}}

| basin_countries = Scotland

| length = {{convert|4|mi|km|abbr=on}}

| width = {{convert|0.35|mi|km|abbr=on}}

| area = {{convert|940|acre|mi2 km2}}

| depth = {{convert|127|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| max-depth = {{convert|316|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| volume = {{convert|5000000000|cuft|cumi m3|spell=in|abbr=on}}

| residence_time =

| shore =

| elevation = {{convert|127|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| frozen =

| islands =

| cities =

| pushpin_map = Scotland Sutherland

}}

Loch More (great Loch in Gaelic) is a {{convert|4|mi|km}} long freshwater loch in Sutherland, Scotland, about {{convert|10|mi|km|abbr=off}} east of Scourie.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by Francis H. Groome; publ. Thomas C. Jack, Edinburgh,1901. (Article on Eddrachillis) It is part of a series of inter-connecting lochs and rivers that empty into Loch Laxford, which is a sea loch, the "ford" in the name meaning a firth not a fordPlace-names of Scotland, by James B. Johnston, B.D., publ. David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1892; p. 164. Note: Laxford is Old Norse lax or lachs (salmon) and fjord (firth) This drainage area, named the Laxford basin,Bathymetrical Survey of the Scottish Fresh-Water Lochs, ed. Sir John Murray K.C.B., F.R.S., D.Sc., and Laurence Pullar F.R.S.E., F.R.G.S., publ. Challenger Office, Edinburgh, 1910; Vol II, part 2, pp. 424-428 lies in the southern part of the civil parish of Eddrachillis (community council Scourie).

The loch has a north-west to south-east orientation and is about {{convert|127|ft|m|abbr=on}} above sea level. At the south-east end, it is close to the watershed between the west and east coast of Scotland, being about 2 miles from Loch Merkland which drains into the Loch Shin basin and thence into the Moray Firth. At the north-west end, there is a connecting loch, named Loch nan Ealachan (Loch of the Swans) or (prior to c.1910) Loch na h-Ealaidh (Swan Loch).1 inch to 1 mile 7th Series Sheet 9 Cape Wrath; publ. by Ordnance Survey, Chessington, Surrey,1959Gaelic origins of place names in Britain - getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/the-gaelic-origins-of-place-names-in-britain - produced by Ordnance Survey - retrieved Feb.2024 The width of Loch More is remarkably uniform, just under half a mile. Its surface area is {{convert|940|acre|mi2 km2}} and its catchment area is about {{convert|12|mi2|km2|abbr=on}}, just over a quarter of the Laxford basin drainage area, which is about {{convert|44|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}.

The average depth is about {{convert|126|ft|m|abbr=on}} reaching a maximum of about {{convert|316|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the centre and the volume of water has been estimated at {{convert|5000000000|cuft|cumi m3|spell=in|abbr=on}}.

Loch nan Ealachan is a shallow basin up to {{convert|8|ft|m|abbr=on}} deep joined to the main loch by a strait about {{convert|1|ft|m}} deep, called Ùidh Dhubh (black ford). This is traversed by a path with stepping stones. The volume of water has been estimated at {{convert|13000000|cuft|m3|spell=in|abbr=on}}.

File:Loch More and the Laxford drainage basin.jpg

The outflow from Loch More (together with Loch nan Ealachan) is carried by the small river An Earachd, from the north end of Loch nan Ealachan into Loch Stack, which is about {{convert|1|mi|km}} north of Loch More. Ben Stack ({{convert|2364|ft|m|abbr=on}}), which rises steeply from the south side of Loch Stack, extends with a lesser incline as far as the hamlet of Achfary ( {{convert|154|ft|m|abbr=on}}), by the shore of Loch nan Ealachan. The outflow from Loch Stack is the River Laxford, which reaches the sea at Loch Laxford.

There is no village adjacent to the loch apart from the hamlet of Achfary, alongside Loch nan Ealachan.