Luther Water is a generally southerly flowing river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 that discharges to the River North Esk

River North Esk

The North Esk is a river in Angus and Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is formed by the meeting of the Water of Mark and the Water of Lee , and enters the North Sea four miles north of Montrose. It forms the boundary between Angus and Aberdeenshire at certain stages in its course...

; this watercourse rises in the Howe of the Mearns

Kincardineshire

The County of Kincardine, also known as Kincardineshire or The Mearns was a local government county on the coast of northeast Scotland...

 somewhat south of Drumelzie Forest. Draining chiefly agricultural lands, this stream has a notable lack of turbidity

Turbidity

Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality....

 and a pH

PH

In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...

 level of approximately 8.26 measured near the Mains of Luther. Turbidity

Turbidity

Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality....

 has been measured at 70 centimetres by the Secchi disc protocol. summer temperatures are approximately 16 degrees Celsius

Celsius

Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...

 and electrical conductivity is 21 micro-siemens per centimetre. Armouring

Armor (hydrology)

Armor, in hydrology and geography is the association of surface pebbles, rocks or boulders with stream beds or beaches. Most commonly hydrological armor occurs naturally; however, a man-made form is usually called riprap, when shorelines or stream banks are fortified for erosion protection with...

 of the stream bottom consists of small rounded stones varying typically from about one centimeter to four centimeters in diameter, some of which are quartzite

Quartzite

Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...

 in composition, leading to a golden-green effect in some locations. Other nearby watercourses discharging to the North Sea include Cowie Water

Cowie Water

The Cowie Water is a river rising in the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that discharges to the North Sea in the northern part of Stonehaven. south of the ruined Cowie Castle...

to the north.