Loch Shin

Loch Shin (Loch Sìn, ) is a loch in the Scottish North West Highlands. To the south is the small town of Lairg. The loch, the largest in Sutherland, runs from the north-west to the south-east and is 17 mi long.

In the 1950s, the level of the loch was raised by over 30 ft by the construction of Lairg Dam by Wimpey Construction as part of a hydro-electric scheme.

Around the loch there are mountain ranges; the 3273 ft Ben More Assynt in the west and Ben Klibreck (3154 ft) to the east. The loch drains to the North Sea by way of the short River Shin that feeds into the Dornoch Firth at Bonar Bridge.

Three miles to the north of Lairg is a monument in remembrance of an early attempt to tame the Highlands. The area around the loch is a centre for sheep farming in Scotland.