Larne Lough
Encyclopedia
Larne Lough is a sea lough
or inlet
in County Antrim
, Northern Ireland
. The lough lies between Islandmagee
(a peninsula) and the mainland. At its mouth is the town of Larne
. It is designated as an area of special scientific interest
, a special protection area
, and a Ramsar site
to protect the wetland
environment, particularly due to the presence of certain bird
species and shellfish
.
.
relatively calm waters of the lough. Very little evidence of these natural spits remain, as they were lost under port and industrial developments. In the upper reaches of the estuary at Ballycarry there is an area of salt marsh
.
is on the west side of the entrance to Larne Lough.
boats were found in peat
which was overlaid with marine mud. The dugouts were radiocarbon dated
3641-3378 BC and 3700-3382 BC. Both were found close to a sea lough with no navigable rivers, so they were likely to have been used to travel at sea.
of the north-east of Ireland was begun when a few members of the Botanical Society in The Queen's University of Belfast investigated and mapped the distribution of the seaweeds. Among the algae recorded was Ascophyllum nodosum
var. minor Turn.The northern end was also surveyed. The vegetation now is dominated by mid-upper salt marsh communities and a Phragmites
reedbed, with some saltmarsh pans.
), is 395.94 hectares in area, at Latitude 54 48 54 N and Longitude 05 44 38 W. It was designated a Ramsar site on 4 March 1997. The Ramsar site boundary entirely coincides with both that of the Larne Lough Area of Special Scientific Interest and the Larne Lough Special Protection Area. The site qualified under Criterion 2 of the Ramsar Convention
because it supports numbers of vulnerable and endangered Irish Red Data Book bird species. The site regularly supports nationally important numbers of breeding populations of Roseate tern
s and Common Tern
. It also qualified under Ramsar criterion 6 due to populations occurring at levels of international importance of Light-bellied Brent Geese
. Swan Island has, in the recent past, held internationally important numbers of breeding Roseate Tern.
Lough
A lough is a body of water and is either:* A lake* A sea lough, which may be a fjord, estuary, bay, or sea inlet.It can also be used as a surname, with various pronunciations: law, loch, low, lowe, loth, loff....
or inlet
Inlet
An inlet is a narrow body of water between islands or leading inland from a larger body of water, often leading to an enclosed body of water, such as a sound, bay, lagoon or marsh. In sea coasts an inlet usually refers to the actual connection between a bay and the ocean and is often called an...
in County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The lough lies between Islandmagee
Islandmagee
Islandmagee is a peninsula on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located between the towns of Larne and Carrickfergus. It is part of the Larne Borough Council area and is a sparsely populated rural community with a long history since the mesolithic period.As part of an...
(a peninsula) and the mainland. At its mouth is the town of Larne
Larne
Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...
. It is designated as an area of special scientific interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
, a special protection area
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...
, and a Ramsar site
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
to protect the wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
environment, particularly due to the presence of certain bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
species and shellfish
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
.
Name
The lough takes its name from the small medieval kingdom of Latharna meaning "descendants of Lathair". The older name for the lough was Loch Ollarbha or Inbhear nOllarbha, from Ollarbha the ancient name of the Larne Water. The lough was also known as Inbhear Seimhne from the ancient name of IslandmageeIslandmagee
Islandmagee is a peninsula on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located between the towns of Larne and Carrickfergus. It is part of the Larne Borough Council area and is a sparsely populated rural community with a long history since the mesolithic period.As part of an...
.
Features
Much of the estuary is shallow, having become extensively infilled with sediments of fine muddy sand, and at low water the largest areas of intertidal flats are exposed in the south of the estuary. The northern parts of the estuary are wider and relatively deep, especially at the mouth where dredging is regularly carried out to maintain the shipping channel to the port of Larne. Previously, a complex spit system existed at the mouth of the estuary, formed where sediments from further along the shore were washed into therelatively calm waters of the lough. Very little evidence of these natural spits remain, as they were lost under port and industrial developments. In the upper reaches of the estuary at Ballycarry there is an area of salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
.
Places of interest
Chaine Memorial Tower lighthouseChaine Memorial
The Chaine Memorial Tower is a memorial to James Chaine, a former Member of Parliament for Larne, County Antrim. It is a cylindrical stone tower lighthouse with a conical roof, situated on the west side of entrance to Larne Lough...
is on the west side of the entrance to Larne Lough.
Archaeology
At Ballylig, Larne Lough, two dugoutDugout (boat)
A dugout or dugout canoe is a boat made from a hollowed tree trunk. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. Monoxylon is Greek -- mono- + ξύλον xylon -- and is mostly used in classic Greek texts. In Germany they are called einbaum )...
boats were found in peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
which was overlaid with marine mud. The dugouts were radiocarbon dated
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
3641-3378 BC and 3700-3382 BC. Both were found close to a sea lough with no navigable rivers, so they were likely to have been used to travel at sea.
Flora and fauna
In 1929, a "Coastal Survey" of the algaeAlgae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
of the north-east of Ireland was begun when a few members of the Botanical Society in The Queen's University of Belfast investigated and mapped the distribution of the seaweeds. Among the algae recorded was Ascophyllum nodosum
Ascophyllum nodosum
Ascophyllum nodosum is a large, common brown alga in the family Fucaceae, being the only species in the genus Ascophyllum. It is seaweed of the northern Atlantic Ocean, also known as rockweed, Norwegian kelp, knotted kelp, knotted wrack or egg wrack...
var. minor Turn.The northern end was also surveyed. The vegetation now is dominated by mid-upper salt marsh communities and a Phragmites
Phragmites
Phragmites, the Common reed, is a large perennial grass found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Phragmites australis is sometimes regarded as the sole species of the genus Phragmites, though some botanists divide Phragmites australis into three or four species...
reedbed, with some saltmarsh pans.
Ramsar site
The Larne Lough Ramsar site (wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar ConventionRamsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
), is 395.94 hectares in area, at Latitude 54 48 54 N and Longitude 05 44 38 W. It was designated a Ramsar site on 4 March 1997. The Ramsar site boundary entirely coincides with both that of the Larne Lough Area of Special Scientific Interest and the Larne Lough Special Protection Area. The site qualified under Criterion 2 of the Ramsar Convention
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
because it supports numbers of vulnerable and endangered Irish Red Data Book bird species. The site regularly supports nationally important numbers of breeding populations of Roseate tern
Roseate Tern
The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....
s and Common Tern
Common Tern
The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...
. It also qualified under Ramsar criterion 6 due to populations occurring at levels of international importance of Light-bellied Brent Geese
Brent Goose
The Brant or Brent Goose, Branta bernicla, is a species of goose of the genus Branta. The Black Brant is an American subspecies. The specific descriptor bernicla is from the same source as "barnacle" in Barnacle Goose, which looks similar but is not a close relation.-Appearance:The Brant Goose is...
. Swan Island has, in the recent past, held internationally important numbers of breeding Roseate Tern.