Why Is Loch Ness Famous?
Why Is Loch Ness Famous? Loch Ness is the most famous of all the fresh water lochs in Scotland because of reports that it is inhabited by an aquatic monster, best known for alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster. Since the middle of the 19th Century many local inhabitants and visitors claim to have seen the Loch Ness Monster (also known as “Nessie”), a cryptid, reputedly a large unknown animal.
It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next. Popular interest and belief in the animal’s existence has varied since it was first brought to the world’s attention in 1933. In recent years much photographic and documentary evidence has been produced from which some experts have detected a resemblance between the monster and aquatic reptiles that lived more than 50,000 years ago.
Nevertheless, in spite of the stories, official opinion still doubts that such a creature actually exists. Frogmen and submarines have searched in vain for the monster. But it has been pointed out that there are caves and subterranean waterways beneath the surface of Loch Ness leading to other lochs, in which the supposed monster could hide.
Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 kilometres (23 miles) southwest of Inverness. Its surface is 16 metres (52 feet) above sea level. It is connected at the southern end by the River Oich and a section of the Caledonian Canal to Loch Oich.
At the northern end there is the Bona Narrowswhich opens out into Loch Dochfour, which feeds the River Ness and a further section of canal to Inverness. It is one of a series of interconnected, murky bodies of water in Scotland; its water visibility is exceptionally low due to high peat content in the surrounding soil.
Loch Ness is the second largest Scottish loch by surface area at 56 km2 (22 sq mi) after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth, it is the largest by volume in the British Isles. Its deepest point is 230 m (126 fathoms; 755 ft), making it the second deepest loch in Scotland after Loch Morar.
A 2016 survey claimed to have discovered a crevice that pushed the depth to 271 m (889 ft) but further research determined it to be a sonar anomaly. It contains more fresh water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined, and is the largest body of water in the Great Glen, which runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south.