| Loch Beannach, Assynt | |
| Coordinates: | 58.1889°N -5.1619°W |
| Type: | freshwater loch |
| Length: | 2km (01miles) |
| Width: | 0.53km (00.33miles) |
| Area: | 49ha |
| Depth: | 13.45feet |
| Max-Depth: | 32feet |
| Volume: | 70883210.58ft3 |
| Shore: | 100km (100miles) |
| Elevation: | 68m (223feet) |
| Islands: | 21 |
| Pushpin Map: | Scotland Sutherland |
Loch Beannach is a small v-shaped loch, located 2 miles to the west of Loch Assynt and 3 miles northeast of Lochinver within the Assynt area of Sutherland, Scotland.[1] [2] [3] The loch is located in an area known as the Assynt-Coigach National Scenic Area,[4] one of 40 such areas in Scotland.[5]
The northeastern part of the loch is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).[6] The specific area covered are the Downy Birch woodland on eight islands within the loch.[6] The woodland is a prime example of the type that would have covered the area extensively in the past.[6] The area of the site SSSI overlaps with the areas general Assynt Lochs SSSI,[7] that is notable for its population of black-throated divers where the loch is one of the nesting sites for this species.[6] The Loch is also a nesting site for common gull, European golden plover, meadow pipit, red grouse, skylark, barn swallow and wheatear.[2] The water-lily Nuphar pumila grows around the loch.[2]
To the east of the loch is a former crofting township that was cleared during the 19th Century.[8] Its name was never discovered.[8] It consists of 11 former crofts, consisting of sizes of 3.0m by 2.0m to 16.0m by 5.0m in two groups.[8] The evidence for lazy bed cultivation is still visible.[8] On the stream that issues from Loch an t- Sabhail are the remains of a corn-mill and a dam further upstream.[8]
Loch Beannach flows along an unnamed stream into Loch Bad nan Aighean directly south.[9] The ground around the loch is hummocky with stretches of peat bog and water lying between bare rocky knolls.[10]
Directly to the north-west, the loch is overlooked by the triple peak's of Quinag.