Glendalough Upper Lake

Glendalough Upper Lake (Irish: An Loch Uachtair[4]) is a glacial lake near Glendalough, County Wicklow, Ireland.

Glendalough Upper Lake
Overall view
Location in Ireland
LocationCounty Wicklow
Coordinates53°00′10″N 6°21′57″W
TypeGlacial lake
Primary inflowsGlenealo river, Lugduff Brook
Primary outflowsGlenealo river
Basin countriesIreland
Max. length1.4 km (0.87 mi)[1]
Max. width0.52 km (0.32 mi)[1]
Max. depth30 m (98 ft)[2]
Surface elevation440 ft (130 m)[3]
Islandsno

Geography
Eastern shore of the lake

The lake is located in the Wicklow Mountains area west of Glendalough Early Medieval monastic settlement.[5] Near the southern shore stands a small rectangular church named Temple-na-Skellig, only accessible by boat and a series of steps from the landing stage; a nearby cliff hosts a cave called St. Kevin's bed,[6] reputedly a retreat for St. Kevin and later for St. Laurence O'Toole.

Geology

The lake is classified as a ribbon lake. The Upper and the Lower lake were at first united but one of their inflow brought an amount of sediment large enough to divide the original lake in two parts.[2]

Hiking

Close to the eastern tip of the lake passes the Wicklow Way, a long distance waymarked walking trail, on its way from Rathfarnham in the north to its southerly point of Clonegal.[7]

Nature conservation
Ducks on the lake shore

The Upper Lake is part of the Wicklow Mountains National Park. Among the plants living near the coast can be cited the white waterlily and the broad-leaved pondweed. Some of its shore is occupied by a marsh with horsetail, bottle sedge and common reed, which is a convenient place to spot dragonflies.[2]

See also
  • List of loughs in Ireland

References
  1. "Upper Lake /An Loch Uachtair, Glendalough, co. Wicklow, Ireland". Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  2. "Lakes & Rivers" (PDF). Wicklow Mountains National Park. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  3. The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. 1843. p. 351.
  4. "An Loch Uachtair". Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  5. "Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, Ireland". Brockagh Resource Centre. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  6. Margaret Greenwood; Mark Connolly; Geoff Wallis (2003). Ireland. Rough Guides. p. 154. ISBN 9781843530596. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  7. "Roundwood to Glendalough". Retrieved 27 October 2016.

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