Loch Lomond - United Kingdom

Loch Lomond is the largest (by surface area) body of freshwater in Britain, with a surface area of 71km2.The two main feeder rivers are the River Falloch at the northern-most point, with a mean flow of 6.8 cumecs, and the River Endrick entering on the south-eastern side of the loch, with a mean flow of 7.8 cumecs. They have markedly different catchments - the Falloch´s is mountainous with a catchment area of 80km2, whilst the Endrick´s is a typical lowland rural catchment of 220km2. There are distinct differences in the chemistry of the two rivers, reflecting the differences in the geology of their catchments. The Highland Boundary fault cuts across the lower part of Loch Lomond, but there is also a narrow physical restriction halfway down the length of the loch. For these reasons, the water chemistry and topography are quite different between the so-called Northern and Southern Basins and, as a result, there are two ECN sampling sites, one from each basin.