Gazetteer of Scotland

LOM
1-650 feet above thelevelof the town of
Falkland, which is situated at its base.
It seems to have been fortified ; and
on its summit is a small lake, which
has the appearance of the crater of
an extinct volcano : this hill contains
limestone and coal ; and a vein of
lead has been lately opened, with
great hopes of success; The Western
Lomond, which is considerably high-
er, has on its top a large cairn, or
heap of loose stones.
LOMOND (LOGH); a lake in
Dumbartonshire, which for its extent,
and the grandeur of its scenery and
prospects, is undoubtedly superior to
any in Great Britain. This magnifi-
cent expanse of water is about SO
measured miles in length, and in some
places exceeds 8 or 9 in breadth ; and
its surface contains upwards of 20,000
acres of water. It has about SO isl-
ands scattered over it, 1 1 of which are
of considerable size. The names of
these are Inch-Murin,Inch-Tavanach,
Inch-Grange, Inch-tor, Ineh-Caillaich,
Inch-Clear, Inch-Fad, Inch-Conagan,
Inch-Moan, Inch-Loanig, and Inch-
Cruin.' There are several others, but
they are not remarkable either for
size or any other circumstance. The
depth of the lake is very various : in
the southern extremity it seldom ex.
ceeds 20 fathoms; but, near the N.
end, it is in some places nearly 100
fathoms, which is probably the great-
est depth of the lake. The most con-
siderable stream which runs into the
kike is the Endrick, which falls into it
on the S. E. ; and on the W. side it
receives the waters of the Uglas, the
Lussj the Fruin, the Falloch, and
other smaller rivulets. It discharges
itself at its southern extremity by the
river Leven, which falls into the Frith
of Clyde at Dumbarton. The natu-
ral woods growing on its banks and
on its islands, consist chiefly of oak,
a«h, holly, b'irchj mountain-ash, hazel,
aspen, alder, yew, larix, hawthorn, and
willows. The other indigenous plants
are common to other parts of the
Highlands, but several are found
which are, accounted rare. It abounds
with delicious trout, and in the south-
ern part of it are found salmon. In
Several places are seen ruins of houses
under the surface of the water, which
would seem to show that the water is
higher than it formerly wa%. and is
LO M
consequently gainingupon the ground,
Cambden also describes an island a«
existing in his day,' called Camstrad-
clen, which is now covered with wa-
ter to the depth of 2 of 3 fathoms*
This rise, is occasioned by the sand
brought down by the mountain tor-
rents banking up the water near the
mouth of the Leven. Some years ago,
at the request of several of the neigh-
bouring proprietors', Mr. Galborne
surveyed the lake, in order to plan
some relief from the encroachment of
the water. He proposed to make a
constant navigation on the Leven, by
deepening the channel, and cutting
through a neck or two of its curva r
tures, which would give the water
greater velocity. This would be the
means of allowing the inhabitants, ou
the borders of the lake, to bring to
market their slates, timber, bark, &c.
at all seasons, and to import coal and
other necessaries ; but also, by low-
ering the surface of the lake, would
recover some thousands of acres of
excellent land, now covered with the
water. The common people in the
neighbourhood say, that Loch Lo-
mond has been long' famed for three
wonders, viz. fish without fins, waves
without wind, and a floating island,
though upon examination none of
these will be found strictly true. Vi-
pers are said to abound in some oi*
the islands, and are so far amphibious
as to swim from one to another. The
second wonder is by no means pecu-
liar to this lake, but is observed in all
great expanses of water in a calm suc-
ceeding a storm. In 1755, when Lis-
bon was thrown down by an earth-
quake, the waters of Loch Lomond
were greatly agitated : they rose ra-
pidly several feet above the usual level,,
and as rapidly sunk several feet below
it, continuing to ebb and flow for
some hours, when it again became
calm. At present^ no floating island
exists ; but a small piece or' ground,,
attached to the W. side of Inch-Cona-
gan, is said to have floated about the
surface of the lake. The whole sce-
nery of Loch Lomond and its accom-
paniments is highly delightful ; the
ba'nks are clothed with natural wood ;
sc<me of the islands consist of pasture
ground, broken here and there by
dark patches of wood ; while othero*
display steep and rugged hills, clothetiL
Yy