Lough Neagh (pronounced "lokh NAY") is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles and the fifth largest in Europe, covering a surface area of approximately 383–400 square kilometres in the heart of Northern Ireland. Stretching roughly 30.5 km from southwest to northeast and up to 12.1 km wide, this vast, shallow lough has an average depth of just 8.9 metres and a maximum depth of 30 metres. Fed by eight major tributaries — the Blackwater, Ballinderry, Moyola, Six Mile Water, Main, Upper Bann, Glenavy, and Crumlin rivers — the lough drains northward via the Lower River Bann at Toome, eventually reaching the sea near Portstewart. The Lough Neagh Basin sits within a geological depression shaped by tectonic events dating back some 400 million years, giving the lough a broad, relatively flat character with a shoreline of approximately 125 km. Lough Neagh is not only a world-class fishery but a place of deep cultural and historical significance in Northern Ireland, celebrated in literature and sustaining fishing communities for centuries.