Loch Trool

This list of lochs in Scotland includes the majority of bodies of standing freshwater named as lochs but only a small selection of the generally smaller, and very numerous, lochans. This list does not currently include the reservoirs of Scotland except where these are modifications of pre-existing lochs and retain the name loch or lochan. It has been estimated that there are at least 31,460 freshwater lochs in Scotland, and more than 7,500 in the Western Isles alone. Whilst lochs are widespread throughout the country, they are most numerous within the Scottish Highlands and in particular in the former counties of Caithness, Sutherland and Ross and Cromarty. The majority of the larger lochs are linear in form; their distribution through the West Highlands reflects their origin in the glacial overdeepening of the straths and glens they now occupy. Loch is a Scottish Gaelic word for a lake or fjord that has been borrowed by Scots and Scottish English to apply to such bodies of water, especially those in Scotland. Whilst loch or lochan is by far the most widespread name for bodies of standing water in Scotland, a number of other terms exist. The Lake of Menteith is the only natural body of freshwater called a lake in Scotland, and there are one or two other man-made lakes, the Lake of the Hirsel being an example. Numerous lochs are called water, particularly in the Northern Isles, e.g. Roer Water on Shetland and Heldale Water on Orkney. These are not to be confused with similarly named rivers, particularly in the south of Scotland, e.g. Yarrow Water and Blackadder Water.
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