Belhavel Lough

Lake in County Leitrim, Ireland

Belhavel Lough

Claonloch (Irish)

Location in Ireland

Location| County Leitrim
Coordinates| 54°12′31″N 8°11′1″W﻿ / ﻿54.20861°N 8.18361°W﻿ / 54.20861; -8.18361
Primary outflows| Diffagher River
Catchment area| 22.24 km2 (8.6 sq mi)
Basin countries| Ireland
Surface area| 1.01 km2 (0.39 sq mi)
Surface elevation| 60 m (200 ft)
References| [1][2]

Belhavel Lough (Irish: Claonloch, meaning 'crooked lake')[3] is a freshwater lake in the northwest of Ireland. It is located in north County Leitrim near the village of Killarga.

## Geography and hydrology

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Belhavel Lough is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Killarga and 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Drumkeeran.[1] It covers an area of 1.01 km2 (0.4 sq mi).[2] The lake drains east into the Diffagher River, which eventually reaches Lough Allen.[1]

## Ecology

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The water quality was reported to be satisfactory c. 2001 – c. 2003 with a mesotrophic rating,[4][n 1] but had a "poor" ecological status c. 2007 – c. 2009 indicating pollution,[6] though Zebra mussel infestation was not reported.[7] The ecology of Belhavel Lough, and other county waterways, is threatened by curly waterweed, zebra mussel, and freshwater clam invasive species.[8][9]

## See also

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* List of loughs in Ireland

## References and notes

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### Notes

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1. ^ Trophic states of "Oligotrophic" and "Mesotrophic" are desirable, but freshwater lakes rated 'Eutrophic' or 'Hypertrophic' indicates pollution.[5]

### Primary sources

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1. ^ a b c "Belhavel Lough" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
2. ^ a b Free, Gary; Little, Ruth; Tierney, Deirdre; Donnelly, Karol & Caroni, Rossana (2006). A Reference Based Typology and Ecological Assessment System for Irish Lakes (PDF) (Report). Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland). p. 10. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
3. ^ "Claonloch/Belhavel Lough". Placenames Database of Ireland. Government of Ireland - Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Dublin City University. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
4. ^ Clenaghan, Clinton & Crowe 2005, p. 97.
5. ^ Clenaghan, Clinton & Crowe 2005, p. 8.
6. ^ EPA 2010, pp. 7, 84.
7. ^ EPA 2010, p. 80.
8. ^ Pedreschi et al. 2014.
9. ^ Clenaghan, Clinton & Crowe 2005, p. 16.

### Secondary sources

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* Clenaghan, Conor; Clinton, Frank; Crowe, Matthew (2005). Phosphorus Regulations National Implementation Report (PDF) (Report). Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Enforcement.
* Pedreschi, D.; Kelly-Quinn, M.; Caffrey, J; O'Grady, M.; Mariani, S.; Phillimore, A. (2014). "Genetic structure of pike (Esox lucius) reveals a complex and previously unrecognized colonization history of Ireland". Journal of Biogeography. 41 (3): 548–560. doi:10.1111/jbi.12220. PMC 4238397. PMID 25435649.
* EPA (2010). Martin McGarrigle; John Lucey; Micheál Ó Cinnéide (eds.). Water Quality in Ireland 2007-2009 (PDF) (Report). EPA, Aquatic Environment Office of Environmental Assessment.

*[c.]: circa