Mountains
Ben Nevis
The highest mountain in Scotland and Great Britain is Ben Nevis with a height of 1,344 m. It is near Fort William.
Due to sudden changes in the weather and the appearance of fog, climbing the summit is certainly associated with dangers.
Note
If mountains in Scotland are higher than around 914 meters, they are named “Munros” after Sir Hugh Munro. Hugh Munro was the first to attempt to catalog the Scottish mountains at this altitude.
Among the Scottish Munros include:
- the Ben Lomond with a height of 974 m
- the Lochnagar with a height of 1155 m
- the Sgurr nan Gillean with a height of 964 m
- the Sgurr Alasdair with a height of 992 m
- the Inaccessible Pinnacle/Sgurr Dearg with a height of 986 m
- the Liatach with a height of 957 m
- the Devil’s Point with a height of 1,004 m
- the Cairn Gorm with a height of 1,244 m
- the Ben Macdhui with a height of 1,309 m
Rivers
Tay
The longest river in Scotland is the Tay with a length of 193 km. Its source is on the slopes of the 1,130 m high Ben Lui – approx. 70 km northwest of Glashgow in the southern highlands. It flows into the Firth of Tay (fjord) near the Scottish city of Perth, which has around 45,000 residents, and then after about 40 km into the North Sea. The Firth of Tay is crossed by the approx. 3 km long Firth-of-Tay Bridge railway bridge and the Tay Road Bridge road bridge approx. 2 km further east. Perth is about 50 km north-northwest of Edinburgh, and on the north side of the Firth is the city of Dundee, which has 175,000 residents.
Clyde
The Clyde has a length of 176 km. Its source is in the Lowther Hills in South Lanarkshire. South Lanarkshire is one of the 32 unitary authorities in Scotland. The Clyde arises from the confluence of the two rivers Potrail Water and Daer Water. The city of Glasgow lies on the river. Its mouth is at Greenock, about 35 km northwest of Glasgow. Here it flows into the Firth of Clyde (= fjord, fjord arm). In the Firth of Clyde is the 430 km² Isle of Arran. The approximately 80 km long Kintyre peninsula separates the Firth of Clyde from the Atlantic.
Spey
The Spey has a length of 173 km. Its source is in the Monadhliath Mountains of the Highlands. It flows into the Moray Firth (fjord, inlet) at Garmouth on the east coast of Scotland.
Tweed
The River Tweed is 156 kilometers long and flows mainly through the Scottish Borders in Scotland. Its source is at Tweedsmuir in Scotland. On its last 27 km it forms a natural border between Scotland and England up to the mouth. The River Tweed flows into the North Sea in the English town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which has 12,000 residents.
Other rivers in Scotland:
- Don with a length of 140 km
- Dee with a length of 140 km
- Findhon with a length of 130 km
- Forth with a length of 97 km, at its mouth is Edinburgh
- Ayr with a length of 65 km
- Ettrick Water with a length of 53 km
- Water of Leith with a length of 35 km
Lakes
The United Kingdom (UK = United Kingdom) includes numerous smaller and larger lakes. The largest lake is Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland with an area of approximately 147.39 m ².
Great Lakes in Scotland are:
- Loch Lomond with an area of around 71 m 2
- Ness hole with an area of about 56.4 m 2 m and a maximum depth of 800 feet = 244th The lake was formed around 10,000 years ago during the last ice age. Loch Ness is known worldwide for its sea monster Nessie, which haunts the gazettes especially during the news-poor season. There is even a dedicated museum. When asked whether the monster actually exists, a local Scot replied: “With enough whiskey, anyone can see the monster”
- Loch Awe with an area of 38.5 m 2
- Loch Maree with an area of 28.6 m 2
- Loch Morar with an area of 26.7 m 2
- Loch Lochy, with an area of 16 m 2 , is part of the Caledonian Canal
The Caledonian Canal
A number of millions of years ago the earth tore open in the Scottish highlands, as a result of which a huge rift was formed – the Great Glen – which over time filled with water and led to three long, narrow lakes lying one behind the other. These are Loch Lochy to the west, Loch Oich in the middle and Loch Ness to the east. Loch Ness is probably the most famous lake in Scotland and the whole of Great Britain.
The famous James Watt had the idea of connecting the lakes in 1773. But it was not until 1803 that the construction of a connection across the three lakes between the North Sea and the Atlantic began under the direction of the engineer Thomas Telford. The canal was not completed until 1822. It leads to a length of 97 km with 29 locks from Inverness on the Moray Firth (fjord) on the North Sea via Fort Augustus and ends at Fort William in the approx. 15 km long Loch Linnhe, a bay in the Atlantic. Nowadays the canal is mainly used by pleasure boats and houseboats that can be chartered there. Near the canal is the highest mountain in Great Britain – Ben Nevis, 1,344 m high.
North Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Irish Sea
Scotland borders the North Sea to the east and north and the North Channel, which is an extension of the Irish Sea and lies between Scotland and Northern Ireland, to the west. Further north, Scotland borders the Atlantic.
