Inland Waters

RiversLakes

The Rivers of Britain

• short;• most of them flow in eastward

direction;• the water level is always high (due to

humid climate and abundant rainfall);• seldom freeze in winter;• are not navigable for oceans ships;• form deep estuaries; • most of the large ports are situated in

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Estuaries are places where freshwater rivers and streams flow into the ocean, mixing with the seawater.

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The Most Important Rivers

• The Severn• The Thames• The Tyne• The Trent• The Mersey• The Clyde

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The Severn

• the longest river in Great Britain, at 354 km (220 miles);

• flows from the Cambrian Mountains in Wales into the Bristol Channel.

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The Bristol Channel• a major inlet in the island of Great Britain,

separating South Wales from the South West England and extending from the lower estuary of the River Severn to that part of the North Atlantic Ocean known as the Celtic Sea;

• takes its name from the English city of Bristol and is over 50 km across at its widest point.

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The Severn Bore is one of Britain's few truly spectacular natural phenomena. It is a large surge wave that can be seen in the estuary of the River Severn, where the tidal range is the 2nd highest in the world.

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The two bridges of the Severn crossing carrying roads link Wales with the southern counties of England and are among the most important in Britain:

• Severn Bridge — opened in 1966; • Second Severn Crossing — opened in

1996.

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The Severn Bridge

The Severn Bridge

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The Second Severn Crossing

The Second Severn Crossing

a motorway crossing over the River Severn between England and Wales.

a motorway crossing over the River Severn between England and Wales. back

The Thames• a major river flowing through

southern England; • flows through central London and

several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading and Windsor;

• empties into the North Sea at the Thames Estuary;

• has a length of 346 km. nexthome

London from aboveLondon from aboveThames barrier LondonThames barrier LondonGravesend Thames EstuaryGravesend Thames EstuaryDolls housesDolls housesLondon EyeLondon EyeView from the London EyeView from the London EyeThe Tower with Tower BridgeThe Tower with Tower BridgeNewbridge, OxfordshireNewbridge, OxfordshireThe Millennium Footbridge with St Paul's Cathedral in the backgroundThe Millennium Footbridge with St Paul's Cathedral in the backgroundback

The Tyne

• a river in northern England that flows east to the North Sea;• formed by the confluence of two rivers,

the North Tyne and the South Tyne; • its length is about 100 km.

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The Trent• one of the major rivers of England; • flows through the Midlands (forming a

boundary between the North and South of England) enters the Humber estuary 65 km from the North Sea;

• its length is 298 km; • one of only two bore rivers in England.

This means that the Trent is tidal, and, like the sea, has a tide twice a day, one in the morning and one in the evening.

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The MerseyThe Mersey

A river of northwest England flowing about 113 km (70 miles) generally westward through the southern suburbs of Manchester and emptying into the Irish Sea at Liverpool.

Its large estuary which is 26 km (16 miles) long and 3.2 km (2 miles) wide, is navigable for ocean ships. nexthome

Dock Area

Old Quay Bridge

Manchester Ship Canal

Liverpool

Silver Jubilee Bridge

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The Lighthouse at New Brighton, also known as the Perch Rock Lighthouse, is situated where the Mersey Estuary opens out into Liverpool Bay.

Before the lighthouse was built there was a wooden ’perch’ erected upon the rock, formerly known as the Black Rock, by the city of Liverpool in 1683. The rock was a serious hazard to navigation. The perch was often washed away by gales. In 1821 one of the Liverpool Pilot Boats crashed into the perch and carried it away.

The construction of the new stone lighthouse started in 1827 and it took 3 years to complete.

The Lighthouse last shone its light in 1973 as it was no longer needed on account of the radar system. Now it is being used as a tourist attraction.

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Lighthouse on the River Mersey, Liverpool

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The Mersey River Festival

For 25 years, in honour of its maritime tradition, Liverpool has organised the annual Mersey River Festival.

It features a parade of tall ships and other vessels, displays, demonstrations, street entertainers, music and many other things associated with the River Mersey.

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The Clyde

• a major river in Scotland;• 176 km (109 miles) long;• the eighth longest river in the United

Kingdom• the third longest in Scotland;• flows west across the Southern Uplands; • flows through the major city of Glasgow, • merges into the Firth of Clyde (a wide bay);• was narrow and shallow until the 1700s

when engineers widened and deepened the river to make it navigable;

• ships from the Atlantic Ocean can sail up the Clyde to Glasgow.

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Dock by the river ClydeMillennium Bridge Glasgow

The Clyde flowing through Glasgow

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*Aerial view of the Clyde

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Lakes of the UK• since Britain has a moist climate with much rainfall,

lakes are numerous;• lakes in Scotland are called lochs;• in Northern Ireland they are called loughs;• in Wales a lake is called a Llyn; • many of the largest lakes in England and Wales are

man-made reservoirs or lakes whose size has been increased by damming.

The largest lakes in the UK by country are:

• N. Ireland: Lough Neagh (381.74 km²)• Scotland: Loch Lomond (71.12 km²)• England: Windermere (14.74 km²)• Wales: Lake Vyrnwy (8.24 km²)

The deepest lake in the UK is Loch Morar with a maximum depth of 309 metres; Loch Ness is second at 228 metres deep.

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Lough Neagh• a freshwater lake in east-central Northern

Ireland;• lies 30 km to the west of Belfast;• approximately 30 km long and 15 km wide; • the largest lake in the British Isles;• very shallow around the margins;• the average depth in the main body is about 9

m, although at its deepest the lake is about 25 m deep. home

Loch Lomond• pronounced /loʊmənd/ is a Scottish loch, located in both the

western lowlands of Central Scotland and the southern Highlands;

• 39 km long and up to 8 km wide;• an average depth of about 37 m, and a maximum depth of

about 190 m; • a large number of islands, several of them quite large by the

standards of British lochs/lakes, including Inchmurrin, the largest island in a loch/lake in the British Isles.

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Inchmurrin

an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is the largest fresh water island in the British Isles.

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Windermere• the largest natural lake in England; • lies in the county of Cumbria and entirely

within the Lake District National Park;

• a ribbon lake, which are long, narrow and finger–like;

• 17 km long and from 400 m to 1,500 m wide.

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The Lake District

• a rural area in North West England;• a popular holiday destination;• famous for its lakes and mountains;• about 55 km (34 miles) across; • the central and most-visited part of the area is the Lake District

National Park - one of fourteen National parks in the UK.

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The Lake District becomes a picturesque winter scene when snow falls over the hills, creating a white blanket over the fells.

Fell (from the Old Norse fjall, 'mountain') is a word used to refer to mountains, or certain types of mountainous landscape, in parts of England and Scandinavia.

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Lake Vyrnwy• Lake Vyrnwy Nature Reserve is an area of land in Wales,• created during the 1880s in order to provide a storage

reservoir of safe water for the city of Liverpool;• the river Vyrnwy was blocked up by a huge stone dam; • as the water built up behind the dam, valley and the

village of Llanwddyn were flooded;• the dam is 357 m high and the base is 39 m wide; • has a road bridge running along the top; • it is decorated with over 25 arches and two small towers.

* Background - dam nexthome

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Vyrnwy DamVyrnwy Dam

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Loch Morar• a freshwater loch in Highland, Scotland;• the fifth largest loch in Scotland, with a

surface area of 26.7 km2;• the deepest freshwater body in the British

Isles, with a maximum depth of 310 m.

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Loch Ness• a large, deep, freshwater loch in the

Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 km southwest of Inverness;

• the second largest Scottish loch by surface area after Loch Lomond at 56.4 km²;

• it contains more fresh water than all lakes in England and Wales combined;

• best known for the legendary Loch Ness Monster, also known as "Nessie".

Click here to see views of Loch Ness

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Urquhart Castle

Loch Ness back

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Loch Ness is famous for its friendly monster, Nessie. Most people think that this is only a legend, but every year tourists from all over the world come to Loch Ness and hope that they will see the monster.

Loch Ness is famous for its friendly monster, Nessie. Most people think that this is only a legend, but every year tourists from all over the world come to Loch Ness and hope that they will see the monster.