Loch Ness in the context of "Northwest Highlands"

Loch Lomond (/ˈlɒx ˈloʊmənd/; Scottish Gaelic: Loch Laomainn) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF), often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands. Traditionally forming part of the boundary between the counties of Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire, Loch Lomond is split between the council areas of Stirling, Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire. Its southern shores are about 23 kilometres (14 mi) northwest of the centre of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. The Loch forms part of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park which was established in 2002. From a limnological perspective, Loch Lomond is classified as a dimictic lake, meaning it typically undergoes two mixing periods each year. This occurs in the spring and autumn when the water column becomes uniformly mixed due to temperature-driven density changes

Loch Lomond is 36.4 kilometres (22.6 mi) long and between one and eight kilometres (1⁄2–5 miles) wide, with a surface area of 71 km (27.5 sq mi). It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area; in the United Kingdom, it is surpassed only by Lough Neagh and Lough Erne in Northern Ireland. In the British Isles as a whole there are several larger loughs in the Republic of Ireland. The loch has a maximum depth of about 190 metres (620 ft) in the deeper northern portion, although the southern part of the loch rarely exceeds 30 metres (98 ft) in depth. The total volume of Loch Lomond is 2.6 km (0.62 cu mi), making it the second largest lake in Great Britain, after Loch Ness, by water volume.Due to its considerable depth and latitudinal location, Loch Lomond exhibits thermal stratification during the summer months, with a distinct epilimnion, metalimnion, and hypolimnion forming in deeper areas. These stratification patterns have important implications for nutrient cycling and aquatic ecology within the loch. During periods of stratification, a decrease in hypolimnetic oxygen can occur in the deeper northern basin, which can affect the species distribution patterns.

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 km (11.08 sq mi).

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 Ewe.

Fort Augustus is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands. The village has a population of around 620 (2020). Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism.

The Great Glen (Scottish Gaelic: An Gleann Mòr [an ˈklaun̪ˠ ˈmoːɾ]), also known as Glen Albyn (from the Gaelic Gleann Albainn "Glen of Scotland" [ˈklaun̪ˠ ˈaɫ̪apən]) or Glen More (from the Gaelic Gleann Mòr "Big/Great Glen"), is a glen in Scotland running for 62 miles (100 km) from Inverness on the edge of the Moray Firth, in an approximately straight line to Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe. It follows a geological fault known as the Great Glen Fault, and bisects the Scottish Highlands into the Grampian Mountains to the southeast and the Northwest Highlands to the northwest.

The glen is a natural travelling route in the Highlands of Scotland, which is used by both the Caledonian Canal and the A82 road, which link the city of Inverness on the northeast coast with Fort William on the west coast. The Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway was built in 1896 from the southern end of the glen to the southern end of Loch Ness, but was never extended to Inverness. The railway closed in 1947. In 2002, the Great Glen Way was opened. A long-distance route for cyclists, canoeists, and walkers, it consists of a series of footpaths, forestry tracks, canal paths and occasional stretches of road linking Fort William to Inverness.

The Loch Ness Monster (Scottish Gaelic: Uilebheist Loch Nis), known affectionately as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protruding from the water. Popular interest and belief in the creature has varied since it was brought to worldwide attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with a number of disputed photographs and sonar readings.

The scientific community explains alleged sightings of the Loch Ness Monster as hoaxes, wishful thinking, and the misidentification of mundane objects. The pseudoscience and subculture of cryptozoology has placed particular emphasis on the creature.

The River Ness (Scottish Gaelic: Abhainn Nis) is a short river in the Great Glen of Scotland. It begins at Loch Dochfour, at the northern end of Loch Ness, and flows northeast towards the city of Inverness, where it empties into the Moray Firth. It runs parallel to the Caledonian Canal for the first half of its course, which is six miles (10 km) long in total.

At Inverness, the river contains a group of wooded islets known as the Ness Islands, some of which are linked to the shore by footbridges.

The Monadhliath Mountains /ˌmoʊnəˈliːə/, or Monadh Liath, are a range of mountains in Scotland. Monadh Liath is Scottish Gaelic, and means "grey mountain range". Running in a northeast to southwest direction, it lies on the western side of Strathspey, to the west of the Cairngorms and to the south east of Loch Ness. Its southwestern limit is usually taken to be Corrieyairack Pass (763 m) but similar uplands continue to Glen Roy and Spean Bridge. The range is within the Highland council area, and the south and east fringes are within the Cairngorms National Park. The high point of the range is Càrn Dearg, at 945 metres (3,100 ft), located 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Inverness. This is one of four Munros in the Monadhliath, the others being A'Chailleach (930 m or 3,050 ft), Geal Chàrn (926 m or 3,038 ft), and Càrn Sgulain (920 m or 3,020 ft). The Monadhliath Mountains are designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

The Monadh Liath differs greatly in character from the greater Highland mountains to the south and west, as an elevated moorland with no proper ridges. The four Munros are all on the Spey rim, three making a classic circuit from Newtonmore; the interior is rarely visited. The main valley within the Monadh Liath is the Findhorn. It is unusually sinuous, being an incised meandering river valley very little altered by glaciers.