ENGLISH GEOGRAPHY

RIVERS

A river has always been an element created by nature for pure enjoyment, as well as an inspiration for artists and poets. We want to show you some research done by Mirabal students on English rivers. The key-note presentation at the end of the page was created by Juan Lucas Royo.

Edgar Allan Poe dedicated one of his poems to a river:

Ryan Sheffield

Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow
Of crystal, wandering water,
Thou art an emblem of the glow
Of beauty-the unhidden heart-
The playful maziness of art
In old Alberto's daughter;
But when within thy wave she looks-
Which glistens then, and trembles-
Why, then, the prettiest of brooks
Her worshipper resembles;
For in his heart, as in thy stream,
Her image deeply lies-
His heart which trembles at the beam
Of her soul-searching eyes.

On this web page, you can discover all the villages and places through which the river Thames flows;
These words are taken from that webpage:
"The River Thames seeps out of the earth in a Gloucestershire field near Cirencester. Two hundred and fifteen miles and six counties later, it is swallowed by the North Sea. The Thames is by far the best known river in Britain, although it is not the longest (the River Severn is 6 miles, 10 kilometres, longer)."

 

Interesting facts about the River Thames

• Length 346 km (215 miles)
• Source is about a mile north of the village of Kemble, near Cirencester.
• The area of floodplain is 896 km².
• There are in all 47 locks,
• The Thames has been frozen over at various times, the earliest recorded occasion being AD 1150.
• There is a 23-ft (7-m) difference between low and high tide at London Bridge.
• The Thames is navigable by barges is navigable for 306 km (191 miles) from Lechlade.
• The non-tidal part of the Thames from the source to Teddington stretches for 237 km (147 miles) and falls some 104.2 metres (342 feet).
• 75 bridges cross over the non-tidal Thames.
• 29 bridges cross over the tidal Thames
• The Thames is tidal from Teddington.
• From its source to the sea, it is estimated that the Thames carries some 300,000 tonnes of sediment a year.
• More than 100 fish species have been recorded in the Thames estuary over the past 30 years, many of these in the river within London.
• The country alongside the Thames is mostly rolling hills with farming and grazing being the main uses of the land until London when it becomes urbanised.