Loch More (great Loch in Gaelic) is a freshwater loch in Caithness, Scotland, about south of Thurso.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by Francis H. Groome; publ. Thomas C. Jack, Edinburgh,1901. (Article on Halkirk) It is a shallow flat-bottomed basin, in common with most of the nearby lochs.Bathymetrical Survey of the Scottish Fresh-Water Lochs, ed. Sir John Murray K.C.B., F.R.S., D.Sc., and Laurence Pullar F.R.S.E., F.R.G.S., publ. Challenger Office, Edinburgh, 1910; Vol II, part 2, p. 19Bartholomew's Half Inch to Mile Map of Scotland - Sheet 27 Caithness; publ. John Bartholomew, 1929
The overflow from the loch is taken by the River Thurso, which, after a windy course of , flows into the Pentland Firth at the town of Thurso. The main inflow comes from the Sleach Water and the upper part of the River Thurso (also known here as Strathmore water). The latter is formed by a union of Rumsdale Water (source Rumsdale Loch) and Glut Water, whose source to the south-west is at a height of around , about upstream from Loch More.
The loch was originally an irregular round shape, less than a mile across, with a surface area of about . The average depth was only reaching a maximum of about . However, in 1907-1908 a dam was built at the outflow into the River Thurso, which raised the level of the loch by . Its purpose was to control the amount of water in the downstream River Thurso, thus improving the quality of salmon fishing. As a result, the area of the loch increased to , with a depth up to a maximum of , depending on the amount of water discharged.The Salmon Rivers and Lochs of Scotland, by W. L. Calderwood, F.R.S.E., publ. Edward Arnold, London, 1909; pp.247-249 The length of the loch is now .Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain Sheet 39/04 – A, Revised 1905-1946, publ. Ordnance Survey, 1950
The area draining into Loch More is about , an area 240 times greater than the original size of the loch, an unusually large catchment area for such a small body of water.
The loch is about above sea level.
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