European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 18, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Photo by London surgeon r. K. Wilson the Best known shot of the mysterious monster. The deep mysteries of the rising Sun lights up the ruins of Urquhart Castle and murky Loch Ness. The Castle is a popular place for viewing the Lake and touching its cold Waters. Just about everything that is known about Nessie is available at the Center in Drumnadrochit. By Norm Zeigler travel outdoor cynics say the sightings were a log or a swimming Stag or perhaps a school of fish. Others claim they must have been mirages or products of overactive a imaginations. A few even hint that they were nothing More than Clever tourist promotions. But some Are not so sure. One of these is Alastair Macpherson tourist director in Inverness. Scotland. Quot i believe that Many people know and see something in the Loch Quot Macpherson says. Quot i have spoken to Many sane and sober people who have seen  the Quot something Quot Macpherson refers to is the Loch Ness monster affectionately or irreverently referred to As Quot Nessie Quot perhaps the most famous unproven phenomenon of All time. It has created a tourist Boom and a cottage Industry along the shores of the hauntingly Beautiful Lake with the lilting name. Loch Ness sits in a verdant Valley with Rocky Cliffs As Well As Brilliant Green Meadows and forested hillsides doping up from its Shoreline. It owes its existence to tremendous geologic upheavals that wrenched the Northern Highlands away from the rest of Scotland millions of years ago creating the Long fault Valley called the great Glen. The rift along the fault line eventually filled up with a string of Long narrow Lochs Loch Linn he Loch Lochs and the most famous Loch Ness. Loch Ness boasts impressive dimensions. It is 24 Miles Long and varies from 1 mile to about 1 i Miles in Width. It averages More than 700 feet deep in the Middle and plunges to a maximum depth of 975 feet. Though it is not the largest Lake in Scotland in terms of surface area a that distinction belongs to Loch Lomond a its volume is unsurpassed in All of Britain. In fact its 263 million cubic feet of fresh water is More than All the takes in England and Wales put together. This fact is cited by Nessie believers confronted with the question of How any Quot monster Quot could hide so Well for so Many years. Diners watch fishermen from a hotel near the Lake. Tales of monsters in the Loch Date Back at least to the sixth Century and May have originated in celtic legend. For centuries locals used a gaelic term a each a Isle a which Means water horse to describe the creatures reported to inhabit its Depths. But the modern history of the Loch Ness monster began in May 1933 with an item in the local paper the Inverness courier that recounted a sighting by a water Bailiff. Interest in the Quot creature Quot reached near hysteria worldwide in 1934 with the release of a photo by a London physician. It showed what looked like a very Large creature with a body mostly submerged and a Long thin neck and Small head raised above the water. The photo immediately gave Rise to speculation that the the mysterious Quot monster Quot was a prehistoric aquatic reptile known As a Ples Rosaur. Perhaps because it is More glamorous than the other theories a a sea slug an eel a giant fish a the Ples Rosaur theory has proved the most persistent. During the intervening decades there have been at least 1,000 More sightings As Well As a number of photos taken. But the photos always seem to have been taken from too far away or to be slightly out of focus or too Grainy to be conclusive. Over the years a number of scientific expeditions have been mounted to search for the monster. They have produced varying amounts of data that could be taken As evidence of Nessie s existence. One such undertaking was operation Dee scan a joint  Effort conducted in 1987. The project focused on sonar surveillance of the Lake s Depths. One of the people involved in that Effort was Adrian Shine a naturalist and researcher who has been studying the Loch Ness monster and a similar phenomenon in Loch Maree on the West coast for More than 16 years. Shine says the Dee scan project found Quot a series of anomalies deep Down Quot that have not been fully explained. He is careful to say that these findings indications of Large Swift moving objects at great Depths Quot Are not necessarily related to the surface  and he states emphatically that current scientific evidence does not support the Ples Rosaur theory. Quot of goodness no that went out with the Ark. It took Dee scan to allay that  Shine says the Dee scan Quot anomalies Quot Are nearly impossible to reconcile with the habits and Anatomy of a reptile. Because most occurred at great Depths he says Quot you re talking fairly certain about a non air  in addition there was no food source to provide an incentive for a Ples Rosaur or any other fish eating animal with lungs to dive. Quot we re not looking for the Media monster great Scot Nessie is everywhere. A amps photos by Gus Schuettler anymore Quot he says. Quot that in t what we d expect to find in the Loch these  is his Best guess Quot my own personal speculation Quot he says Quot is that if they the Quot anomalies Quot were animate they were  but despite the fact that one of the Region s top Nessie experts has declared the Ples Rosaur dead the Dinosaur monster lives on in local shops in All manner of paraphernalia. There Are books on Nessie stuffed Nesses for the kids Nessie to shirts Nessie hats Nessie pens. In Drumnadrochit about 15 Miles Southwest from Inverness a Cement Ples Rosaur beckons in some 200,000 visitors a year to the official Loch Ness monster exhibition. Shine who serves As a consultant to the Center concedes that the statue is inconsistent with his statements but says it is there because the Public expects it. The Center chronicles he history of the Loch Ness phenomenon through videotape photos text and displays of research equipment. Some of the profit from the Center goes to support Shine s ongoing Loch Ness project. Currently Shine says he is shifting the focus of his research efforts to ecology of the Loch which May also help in studying pollution and global warming. A byproduct he says will be More knowledge of the Nessie phenomenon. Quot what we re trying to do is to get people to think. The Best Way of finding an answer to this mystery is to come to an understanding of Loch Ness. Although it is the most famous Lake in the world it is very Little  Shine thinks the general Public will come to accept the idea that there May be no real monster because Quot they no longer need the  but in this age of science and rationality Many May take some Comfort in the idea that there is at least some mystery left in the world. There Are Many Good accommodations a from campgrounds to bed and breakfast places and hotels a in the Loch Ness area. Visitors should Check with the tourist office in Inverness. Several companies offer Tours of the Loch both by bus and boat. Entry to the official Loch Ness monster exhibition costs 3.50 pounds about $5.65 for adults 2.50 pounds for students and senior citizens and 2 pounds for children 7-16. Children under 7 Are free. The exhibit is open daily 9 . To 9 30 . Through sept. 9 9 30 . To 8 . Sept. 10 to oct. 15 9 30 . To 5 30 . Oct 16-31 and 10 . To 4 . November through easter. 12 stripes Magazine july 18, 1991 july 18, 1991 stripes Magazine 13