Larne Lough
| Larne Lough | |
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Location of Larne Lough
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| Location | Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland |
| Coordinates | 54°49′39″N 5°47′24″W / 54.82762°N 5.79011°WCoordinates: 54°49′39″N 5°47′24″W / 54.82762°N 5.79011°W |
| Basin countries | Northern Ireland |
Larne Lough (sometimes Larne Loch, Lough Larne or Loch Larne; from Irish: Loch Latharna) is a sea lough or inlet in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The lough lies between Islandmagee (a peninsula) and the mainland. At its mouth is the town of Larne. It is designated as an area of special scientific interest, a special protection area, and a Ramsar site to protect the wetland environment, particularly due to the presence of certain bird species and shellfish.
The lough takes its name from the small medieval kingdom of Latharna meaning "descendants of Lathair". The older name for the lough was Loch Ollarbha or Inbhear nOllarbha, from Ollarbha the ancient name of the Larne Water.
Much of the estuary is shallow, having become extensively infilled with sediments of fine muddy sand, and at low water the largest areas of intertidal flats are exposed in the south of the estuary. The northern parts of the estuary are wider and relatively deep, especially at the mouth where dredging is regularly carried out to maintain the shipping channel to the port of Larne. Previously, a complex spit system existed at the mouth of the estuary, formed where sediments from further along the shore were washed into the relatively calm waters of the lough. Very little evidence of these natural spits remain, as they were lost under port and industrial developments. In the upper reaches of the estuary at Ballycarry there is an area of salt marsh.
Chaine Memorial Tower lighthouse is on the west side of the entrance to Larne Lough.
At Ballylig, Larne Lough, two dugout boats were found in peat which was overlaid with marine mud. The dugouts were radiocarbon dated 3641-3378 BC and 3700-3382 BC. Both were found close to a sea lough with no navigable rivers, so they were likely to have been used to travel at sea.
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