Shannon Pot

Infobox lake
lake_name = Shannon Pot
image_lake = Shannon_Pot.jpg
caption_lake =
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location = Cuilcagh Mountain, County Cavan
coords = coord|53|51|N|7|32|W|type:waterbody_region:IE_source:nnwiki|display=inline,title
type = turlough
inflow =
outflow = River Shannon
catchment = 12.8 km²
basin_countries = Ireland
length = 16 m
width = 16 m
area =
depth =
max-depth = 9.5 m
volume =
residence_time =
shore =
elevation =
islands =
cities = The Shannon Pot (Irish: "Lag na Sionna" meaning "hollow of the Shannon") is a turlough in the Karst topography Philip Elmer et al "Springs and Bottled Waters of the World" Springer ISBN:3540618414 ] found on the slopes of Cuilcagh Mountain in County Cavan, Ireland. An aquifer-fed naturally fluctuating pool, it is the traditional source of the River Shannon.

The pool itself is approximately 16 m in diameter. It has been explored by divers to a depth of 9.5 m from where the water emerges from a 2 m wide fissure.

Towns near the Shannon Pot include Dowra.

Hydrology

Surveys have defined a 12.8 km² immediate catchment area covering the slopes of Cuilcagh. This area includes Garvah Lough, Cavan, 2.2 km to the northeast of the turlough. The lough is drained by "Pollnaowen" sink before the waters emerge at the pot. [Note Poll nm1: "hole, pit, sink, leak, aperture (The Pocket Oxford Irish Dictionary - Irish-English)

The highest point in the catchment is a spring at Tiltinbane on the western end of the Cuilcagh mountain ridge; this sources an unnamed stream which itself feeds into Shannon Cave. Further sinks that source the pot include "Pollboy" and, through Shannon Cave, "Pollahune" in Cavan and "Polltulyard" and "Tullyrrakeeragh" in Fermanagh.

Surveys suggest Lag na Sionna may once have had a substantially larger catchment area. In times of high flow conditions it has been shown to be hydrologically linked to "Badger Pot" and "Pidgeon Pot" beside Florencecourt Forest Park, Fermanagh.

References