Lough Fern (Irish: Loch Fearna)[4] is a freshwater lake in the northwest of Ireland. It is located in north County Donegal near the town of Milford.
| Lough Fern | |
|---|---|
| Loch Fearna (Irish) | |
 | |
  Location in Ireland | |
| Location | County Donegal |
| Coordinates | 55°3′32″N 7°43′9″W / 55.05889°N 7.71917°W |
| Primary inflows | River Leannan |
| Primary outflows | River Leannan |
| Catchment area | 206.17 km2 (79.6 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Ireland |
| Max. length | 2.3 km (1 mi) |
| Max. width | 0.8 km (0.5 mi) |
| Surface area | 1.81 km2 (0.70 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 2 m (6 ft 7 in) |
| Max. depth | 3 m (10 ft) |
| Surface elevation | 18.7 m (61 ft) |
| Islands | 2 |
| References | [1][2][3] |
Geography
editLough Fern is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Milford, on the R246 road, and 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of Letterkenny.[3] It measures about 2 km (1.2 mi) long and 0.8 km (0.5 mi) wide.[2] The lake has two islands at its northern end, including one crannog.[3]
Hydrology
editLough Fern is fed mainly by the River Leannan entering at its southern end and also by a stream entering at the northern end. The lake drains eastwards into the continuation of the Leannan, which in turn enters Lough Swilly at Rathmelton.[2][3][5]
Natural history
editFish species in Lough Fern include brown trout, salmon, three-spined stickleback, perch and the critically endangered European eel.[6] Lough Fern is part of the Leannan River Special Area of Conservation.[3][5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Free, Gary; Little, Ruth; Tierney, Deirdre; Donnelly, Karol & Caroni, Rossana (2006). A Reference Based Typology and Ecological Assessment System for Irish Lakes (PDF) (Report). Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland). p. 11. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ a b c "Lough Fern" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Water Framework Directive Fish Stock Survey of Lough Fern" (PDF). Inland Fisheries Ireland. August 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ "Loch Fearna/Lough Fern". Placenames Database of Ireland. Government of Ireland - Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Dublin City University. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ a b "Leannan River SAC". National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland). Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ "Preliminary Synopsis of the WFD Surveillance Monitoring Fish Stock Survey on Lough Fern" (PDF). Inland Fisheries Ireland. August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2015.