Loch

A loch is the name given to a body of water in Scotland or Ireland. The spelling lough is used in Hiberno-English, although it is an anglicisation of the Irish form of the word, also "loch". The Scottish spelling is retained by many in Northern Ireland, where Ulster Scots is spoken more than Irish. The word lough is also used in Northumbria to denote such a body of water, though the pronunciation is different.

Scotland

In Scotland, as well as referring to lakes, it is also used for some large fjord-like inlets on the western and northern coasts, known as sea lochs. Although there is no distinct size definition, smaller bodies of water are often known as lochans or lochens.

Perhaps the most famous Scottish loch is Loch Ness, although there are other large examples such as Loch Shin, Loch Tay and Loch Lomond. For a full list, see list of Scottish lochs.

Some new reservoirs for hydroelectric schemes have been given names faithful to the names for natural bodies of water - for example: the Loch Sloy scheme, and Lochs Lagan and Treig (which form part of the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme near Fort William). Other expanses are simply called reservoirs, eg: Blackwater Reservoir above Kinlochleven.

Scotland has exactly one lake, the Lake of Menteith (an Anglicisation of the Scots Laich o Menteith meaning a low-lying bit of land in Menteith, and applied to the loch there because of the similarity of laich to lake).

Ireland

Some estuaries and inlets in Ireland are also named "lough", for example Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle. Almost all, if not absolutely all lakes in Ireland are named "Lough". The three on the River Shannon are Lough Allen, Lough Ree and Lough Derg. Lough Neagh in Ulster is one of the larger lakes in Ireland. Upper and Lower Lough Erne are two consecutive lakes in Fermanagh, and area often referred to as "Ireland's lake district". For other loughs in Ireland, see List of Irish lochs and loughs.