In 1882-4, Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland described Lochaber like this:
Lochaber, a territorial district in the S of the mainland of Inverness-shire, bounded by Perthshire, Argyllshire, the Great Glen, and Badenoch. Its greatest length, from NE to SW, is 33 miles; and its greatest breadth is 21 miles. The river Leven, Loch Leven, Loch Linnhe, Loch Eil, the river Lochy, Loch Lochy, and the foot of Loch Laggan, form the greater part of its boundaries; lines of mountain watershed form parts of its boundaries with Perthshire and Badenoch; the basin of the Spean, downward from the foot of Loch Laggan, forms about one-half of all the area; the Ben Nevis group of mountains, with the deep glens which skirt or cut them, occupies most of the south-western district; Glenspean, Glenroy, Glengloy, Glentreig, Loch Ossian, Loch Gulbin, Loch Treig, Glen Nevis, and Ben Nevis, are prominent features of the interior; and the entire district is pre-eminently Highland, abounds in deep glens, broad moors, and lofty mountains, and is at once wild, romantic, and grand. ...
It seems to take its affix of `aber,' not as other places do from a confluence of streams, but from a girdling and intersecting of lochs. It belongs parochially to Kilmonivaig and Kilmallie, and has been noticed in detail in our articles on these parishes, and on its several lochs, glens, and prominent mountains. A wolf that was slain in it in 1680 by Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel is commonly stated to have been the last of its kind in Great Britain; but, according to Chambers's Domestic Annals, one was killed in the forest of Darnaway, Elginshire, so late as 1743. See the Rev. Alex. Stewart's Nether Lochaber (Edinb. 1883).
Lochaber through time
Lochaber is now part of Highland district. Click here for graphs and data of how Highland has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Lochaber itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Lochaber, in Highland and Inverness Shire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/21884
Date accessed: 19th April 2024
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