Vasa Loch
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Vasa Loch | |
---|---|
![]() Raised beach separating Vasa Loch (left) from the sea. | |
Location | Shapinsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland |
Coordinates | 59°03′00″N 2°55′23″W / 59.050°N 2.923°W |
Lake type | brackish |
Basin countries | United Kingdom |
Max. length | 300 m (980 ft) |
Max. width | 200 m (660 ft) |
Surface elevation | 1 m (3.3 ft) |
Islands | none |
Settlements | Balfour |
Vasa Loch is a brackish lagoon in southwestern Shapinsay, Orkney Islands. (Ordnance, 2002) This water body has been shown on early maps of the island in a very similar shape and size to its current geometry, separated from the North Sea by a narrow strip of raised beach.(Masters, 1840) Vasa Loch is fed by small rivulets and upland springs that rise on the western part of the island's western spur. pH levels of the loch are strongly alkaline, in the range of 10.15. (Hogan, 2006)
Geology
The particular landform associated with Vasa Loch is an ayre, derived from the Old Norse word used to depict a lake which is only separated by a narrow strip of low-lying land from the sea itself.(Shapinsay)
Notes
- Ordnance Survey Map, Landranger, United Kingdom, 1:50,000 (2002)
- G.T, Masters, Orkney, Approaches to Kirkwall, HMS official survey map, 1840-1843
- C.M Hogan, Natural History of the Orkney Islands (2006)
- Shapinsay Island, Orkney
See also
Categories:
- Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
- Use dmy dates from April 2022
- Coordinates on Wikidata
- Articles using infobox body of water without alt
- Articles using infobox body of water without pushpin map alt
- Articles using infobox body of water without image bathymetry
- Shapinsay
- Lochs of Orkney
- Lagoons of the United Kingdom
- All stub articles
- Orkney geography stubs