On the eastern coast, the seas brought in by the east and north-east winds, instead of discharging their violence into the bottom of the Murray Firth, are checked by the long projecting point of Tarbet Ness, and are also made to expand upon the flat sandy shores of the Dornoch Firth. From the other points they are land winds. If vessels should be prevented by strong westerly winds from reaching Fort George, the Bay of Cromarty affords an excellent navigable roadstead. Opposite its entrance the Firth is about 7 miles in breadth, with from 7 to 13 fathoms watcr at spring ebbs: from the same place to Fort George, about 7 miles, there is from 5 to 9 fathoms in the north channel, the two singular slips of land, viz. Channery on the north, and Ardrossan (occupied by Fort Georgc) on the south side, being each about a mile in length, and tlit.ir points crossing each other, confine the channel to about one mile in breadth, ancl completely land-lock all the upper part of the Firth. The tides pass this trai row channel with a great velocity, and cicate a depth of from 19 to 21 fathoms. From Fort George, towards Culloden, is one of the best roadsteads in Bri tain, about 4 milLs in length, and from 3 to 10 fathoms water. From Channery point to the mouth of the river Ness, a distance of about 10 miles, the whole is complete ly land locked ; bele the Firth is narrowed to about half a mile in bt eacith at Kessock Ferry ; above this Ferry the Firth widens very considerably, and is continued about seven miles to the %Nage of Beauly.
Immediately to the west of Kessock Ferry, there is a roadstead in from 4A to 7 fathoms water ; and it is in this sheltered bay, in Loch Beauly, that the eastern ex tremity of the Caledonian Canal is connected with the tideway. To have 20 feet of water on the lower sill at high water in oidinary neaps (which rise there about 8 feet, and ordinary springs about 14 feet) it was necessary, from the flatness of the shore, to place the tide-lock about 400 yards from high water mark. In constructing this lock. very considerable difficulties were to be surmount ed, from the softness of the ground; but, as the process will be described in another part of this article, we shall here only observe that the lock is t70 feet long in the chamber, 40 feet wide, and has a rise of 8 feet. From this lock the canal is formed by artificial banks, until it reaches high-water mark at Clachnacarry, where another lock of similar dimensions is placed upon hard ground. Immediately to the south of this there is a basin or float ing dock, of 967 yards of length, and 162 breadth, with a wharf at the upper end, for the trade of Inverness and the adjacent country. At the southern extremity of the basin is a public road bridge, and adjacent to it four unit ed locks, each 180 feet long and 40 feet wide, which to gether raise the canal 32 feet, being the height of the surface of Loch Ness in its usual summer state. From
the top of these locks, the canal, 50 feet wide in the bot tom, 120 at the water surface, and 20 feet deep, is carri ed by casy bends to the bank of the river Ness, and along its northern side to the small loch Doughfour, a distance from Clachnacarry of 61 miles. This lake is about 1-)2. mile in length, and has from five to nine fa thoms water, between Clachnacarry and this place. By reason of the steep banks approaching close to the river in three different places, the river's channel was chang ed. Previous to entering Loch Doughfour, a regulating lock of 170 feet in length, 40 in width, without any rise, is constructed. The entrance from the canal into the small loch, and from it into Loch Ness, have been exca vated to a proper depth by a dredging machine.
Loch Ness is a beautiful sheet of water, about 22 miles in length, from one to one-and.a-half miles in breadth, and having a depth varying from 5 to 129 fathoms. In the whole of this extensive lake there is not one rock or bank detached from the shore: and although its general direction is straight, there are several small bays and anchoring places in a moderate depth of water, that is to say, at Urquhart, Invermovrison, and Port Clair, on the north side, and at the bay of Dores and Fyers, and the Horse Shoe, on the south side ; there is also good an -horage at each end.
At the south end of Loch Ness stands the fort and village of Fort Augustus; and, on the north side of these, the river Oich falls into Loch Ness. On the northern side of the fort the canal leaves the lake, crosses a pal t of the glacis, and at the back of the village ascends 40 feet by 5 locks, each 180 feet in length. From thence it passes along the south side of the river °jell to the north east end of Loch Oich ; in this distance, of about five miles, there is one lifting lock, 170 feet in length,40 in midi!), and 8 feet rise ; and one regulating lock, of the same length and width, but with a rise of 2 feet to 6 inches, The river Oich has at two places been removed into new, channels, to make room for the canal. Loch Otch is about five miles in length, its breadtlt is irregular, on an average about one-fourth of a mile ; the entrance to and from it, and a small space in the middle, being shallow, have been deepened by a dredging machine. This lake, which forms the suminit level of this navigation, is only 94 feet above the tideway. The river Garry falls into the north-west side : this stream is the drain of the ex tensive alley of Glengary,and in its source passes through two large lakes, viz. one 10 and the other 6 miles in length : These insure an ample supply of water.