Loch Arkaig

Loch Arkaig
Sun setting over the western hills
Location	Lochaber, Scotland
Coordinates	56°57′58″N 5°08′02″W / 56.966°N 5.134°W / 56.966; -5.134Coordinates: 56°57′58″N 5°08′02″W / 56.966°N 5.134°W / 56.966; -5.134
Primary inflows	Dessarry, Pean River
Primary outflows	River Arkaig
Basin countries	United Kingdom
Max. length	12 mi (19 km)
Surface area	16 km2 (6.2 sq mi)
Max. depth	300 ft (91 m)
Water volume	0.75 km3 (0.18 cu mi)
Surface elevation	140 ft (43 m)
Islands	2

Loch Arkaig (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Airceig) is a body of freshwater in Lochaber, Scotland, to the west of the Great Glen. It is approximately 12 miles in length and lies 140 feet above sea level, the maximum depth is some 300 feet.

The main tributaries are the Dessarry and the Pean which flow through the glens of the same names, falling into the loch at the extreme west end, by the settlement of Strathan. The mountains of Lochaber lie to the north, and the Forest of Locheil to the south. The outflow is through the River Arkaig at the extreme east of the loch, which flows eastwards into Loch Lochy, passing Achnacarry.

Two small islands lie at the eastern end of the loch, the larger of which, Island Columbkill, or Eilean Loch Airceig, is the site of a ruined chapel dedicated to St Columba which is the former burial ground of the Camerons of Locheil. A road from the Great Glen follows the north shore of the loch to Strathan where paths lead on to Knoydart, Glenfinnan and Loch Morar.

In 1746, Jacobite funds were said to have been hidden here (see Loch Arkaig treasure).

In common with a number of other Scottish lochs, Loch Arkaig was at one time supposed to be the home of a water horse. James Harris, 3rd Earl of Malmesbury and twice foreign minister during Queen Victoria's reign, recorded in his Memoirs of an Ex-Minister: