Lough Barra facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lough Barra Loch Beara
Location	County Donegal
Primary inflows	River Barra
Primary outflows	Gweebarra River
Catchment area	19.68 km2 (7.6 sq mi)
Basin countries	Ireland
Max. length	1.4 km (1 mi)
Max. width	0.8 km (0.5 mi)
Surface area	0.63 km2 (0.24 sq mi)
Average depth	4.4 m (14 ft)
Max. depth	11.6 m (38 ft)
Surface elevation	90 m (300 ft)

Lough Barra (Irish: Loch Beara) is a freshwater lake in the northwest of Ireland. It is located in north County Donegal in the valley along the Gweebarra fault.

Geography

Lough Barra is about 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Letterkenny, just outside the southwest corner of Glenveagh National Park. It measures about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) long and 1 km (0.6 mi) wide.

Hydrology

Lough Barra is fed mainly by the Barra River entering at its northern end. The lake drains southwards into the Gweebarra River. The lake, like other area lakes, is oligotrophic.

Natural history

Fish species in Lough Barra include brown trout, salmon and the critically endangered European eel. Lough Barra is part of the Cloghernagore Bog and Glenveagh National Park Special Area of Conservation, which also includes Lough Beagh.