Loch of Kirbister

Loch of Kirbister
Kirbister loch, Loch of Orphir
Looking roughly SW over moorland down to the loch.
Loch of Kirbister Location within Orkney Islands
Location	Mainland Orkney, Scotland
Coordinates	58°57′08″N 3°5′36″W
Type	freshwater loch
Primary inflows	several burns
Primary outflows	Mill burn at south end in to Waulkmill Bay
Catchment area	8 mi2 (21 km2)
Basin countries	Scotland
Max. length	1.25 mi (2.01 km)
Max. width	0.5 mi (0.80 km)
Surface area	227 acres (0.92 km2)
Average depth	4 ft (1.2 m)
Max. depth	6 ft (1.8 m)
Water volume	41,000,000 ft3 (1,200,000 m3)
Surface elevation	52 ft (16 m)
Islands	Holm of Groundwater

The Loch of Kirbister is a small, shallow, somewhat triangular-shaped loch located on Mainland Orkney, Scotland, in the parish of Orphir. It lies 5 mi (8.0 km) southwest of Kirkwall on a cultivated land between two hills. There is a small turf-covered islet known as the Groundwater of Holm just off the eastern shore of the loch. It measures 37 m (121 ft) by 19 m (62 ft) and exhibits stone traces of an oval structure and a small projecting pier. The loch is a popular spot for trout fishing. Located on the lodge of the loch is the Orkney Trout Fishing Association which operates a hatchery at the Kirbister pumphouse.

Mill Burn, the southern outflow from the loch, was used to power the 18th-century Kirbister Mill.

The loch was surveyed in 1903 by T.N. Johnston and R.C. Marshall and later charted as part of Sir John Murray's The Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland 1897-1909.