Skene, Loch, a dark and lonely lake in the NE of Moffat parish, N Dumfriesshire, ¾ mile W of the meeting-point of the counties of Dumfries, Selkirk, and Peebles, 11/8 mile W of the source of the Yarrow, and 11¼ miles NNE of the town of Moffat. Lying 1680 feet above sea-level, it has an utmost length and breadth of 6 an furlongs, and is of unknown depth. Its basin is mossy, bleak, and wild, White Coomb (2695 feet) rising to the S, and Lochcraig Head (2625) to the N. Loch Skene affords good sport to the fisherman, its trout running 2 or 3 to the lb., and 12 to 18 lbs. being a fair day's catch. The stream by which the lake discharges its superfluent waters to the river Moffat forms the magnificent cascade called the Grey Mare's Tail. According to a paper read by Mr Ralph Richardson to the Edinburgh Geological Society on 3 Feb. 1881, a glacier once moved down towards Moffatdale, following the existing drainage line, viz., the courses of Midlaw and Tail Burns. The northern lateral moraine of this glacier-now represented only by mounds-acted as a barrier to the water flowing from the N, and thus Loch Skene was formed.Ord. Sur., sh. 16, 1864.
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