Loch Maree

Loch Maree (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Ma-ruibhe) is a loch in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. At 21.7 km (13.46 mi) long and with a maximum width of four kilometres (2+1⁄2 mi), it is the fourth-largest freshwater loch in Scotland; it is the largest north of Loch Ness. Its surface area is 28.7 km2 (11.08 mi2). Loch Maree contains five large wooded islands and over 60 smaller ones, many of which have their own lochans. The largest island, Eilean Sùbhainn, contains a loch that itself contains an island, a situation that occurs nowhere else in Great Britain. Isle Maree holds the remains of a Pre-Reformation chapel and Christian pilgrimage shrine believed to be the 8th century hermitage of Saint Máel Ruba (d. 722), a Celtic Church missionary from Bangor Abbey in Gaelic Ireland who also founded the monastery of Applecross in 672. It is after him that Loch Maree is named; prior to the saint's arrival in the area the loch is believed to have been named Loch Ewe, as evidenced by the name of the village of Kinlochewe (Scottish Gaelic: Ceann Loch Iù, meaning "Head of Loch Ewe") which is located at the eastern end of Loch Maree. The loch is important for wildlife. It is the site of one of the largest breeding concentrations of black-throated diver in Great Britain, and also holds an important population of otter. The islands of Loch Maree are the location of some of the best native Caledonian pinewood in Scotland, and are particularly noted for their dragonflies, with 12 species having been recorded. The waters, islands and shoreline of Loch Maree are protected by several overlapping conservation designations.