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River Severn

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

                          River Severn
   The Severn at Shrewsbury from the English Bridge.

              The Severn at Shrewsbury from the English Bridge.

   Origin           Plynlimon, Wales
   Mouth            Bristol Channel
   Basin countries  United Kingdom (England, Wales)
   Length           354 km (219 mi)
   Source elevation 524 m (1,719 ft)
   Mouth elevation  0 m (0 ft)
   Avg. discharge   107 m³/s
   Basin area       11,420 km² (7,096 mi²)

   The River Severn ( Welsh: Afon Hafren) is the longest British river, at
   354 kilometres (219 miles) long ; it rises at an altitude of 610 metres
   on Plynlimon near Llanidloes, in the Cambrian Mountains, Mid Wales, and
   it passes through a number of English counties, with the county towns
   of Shrewsbury, Worcester, and Gloucester located on its banks. The
   Severn becomes the Bristol Channel at its estuary, eventually
   discharging into the celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. With an average
   discharge of 107 m³/s at Hawbridge ( Gloucestershire), the Severn is
   England's largest river in terms of water flow. The Severn's drainage
   basin area is 11,420 km². It is one of the ten major rivers in the
   United Kingdom.
   The source of the River Severn on Plynlimon, Wales. The source is
   marked with this post in both English and Welsh.
   Enlarge
   The source of the River Severn on Plynlimon, Wales. The source is
   marked with this post in both English and Welsh.
   The source of the River Severn in the Winter of 2006.
   Enlarge
   The source of the River Severn in the Winter of 2006.
   Porthill Bridge in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
   Enlarge
   Porthill Bridge in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
   The Severn bridges crossing near the mouth of the River Severn
   Enlarge
   The Severn bridges crossing near the mouth of the River Severn

Mythology

   According to some sources, the name "Severn" is derived from the name
   Sabrina or ( Hafren), based on the mythical story of the drowning of a
   nymph in the river. Sabrina is also the goddess of the River Severn in
   Brythonic mythology. The story of Sabrina is featured in Milton's
   Comus. There is a statue of 'Sabrina' in the Dingle Gardens at the
   Quarry, Shrewsbury.

   As the Severn becomes tidal the associated deity changes to Noadu, who
   (Romanized as Nodens) is represented mounted on a seahorse, riding on
   the crest of the Severn bore.

Tributary rivers

   The River Stour rises in the north of Worcestershire in the Clent
   Hills, near St Kenelm's Church at Frankley. It flows north into the
   adjacent West Midlands at Halesowen. It then flows westwards through
   Cradley Heath and Stourbridge where it leaves the Black Country. It is
   joined by the Smestow Brook at Prestwood before it winds around
   southwards to Kinver, and then flows back into Worcestershire. It then
   passes through Wolverley, Kidderminster and Wilden to join the Severn
   at Stourport-on-Severn.

   A tributary of the Severn, called the River Teme, joins it just below
   Worcester and above Kempsey.

   One of the several rivers named Avon joins the Severn at Tewkesbury,
   Gloucestershire. That same Avon also flows through Stratford-upon-Avon.

   The port of Bristol is located at the mouth of the Severn, where
   another River Avon flows into it. The River Wye flows into the Severn
   slightly upstream of the Avon and forms the boundary between England,
   specifically the Forest of Dean, and Wales, with the town of Chepstow
   (Casgwent in Welsh) at the confluence, giving an important strategic
   position in yester-year and was the main route into South Wales, before
   the two bridges were built.

Transport

Bridges

   The two bridges of the Severn crossing carrying roads (opened in 1966
   and 1996) link Wales with the southern counties of England and are
   among the most important in Britain. The Severn is bridged at many
   places, and many of these bridges are notable in their own right, with
   several designed and built by the engineer Thomas Telford. (See List of
   Severn bridges for more.) There also is the very famous Ironbridge at
   Coalbrookdale, which is the first ever Iron Bridge in the world.

Disasters

   There have been many disasters on the Severn, making it Britain's most
   dangerous river. It has claimed many lives, especially during the 20th
   century.

Locks

   There are locks on the lower Severn to enable sea going boats as far as
   Stourport. The most northerly lock is at Lincombe about a mile
   downstream from Stourport.

Tunnels

   The Severn Tunnel carries the Great Western Main Line under the large
   estuary.

Associated canals

   The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, the Worcester and
   Birmingham Canal, and the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal all
   join the Severn at Stourport, Worcester and Gloucester respectively.
   The Droitwich Barge Canal used to join the Severn at Hawford, near to
   the River Salwarpe and it hoped that a new link to the Severn via the
   Salwarpe will be re-established in the future.

Paddle Steamers

   The main operator of pleasure craft and particularly Paddle Steamers on
   the river from the mid-1800's to the late 1970's were P and A Campbell
   of Bristol, but also included the Barry Railway Company. There were
   also three ferries operating between Aust and Chepstow these were
   called the Severn King, Severn Queen and Severn Princess. The Severn
   Princess is currently undergoing restoration after being found in
   Ireland full of fertiliser, after dragging her back with her sinking
   twice on the way it is hoped that at some time in the near future she
   will be fully operational again. The Severn King and Queen were
   scrapped not long after their decommmision following the completion of
   the First Severn Bridge.

Tidal bore

   A curious phenomenon associated with the lower reaches of the Severn is
   the tidal phenomenon known as the bore. The bore forms somewhat
   upstream of the Port of Sharpness, which is also the Southern terminus
   of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.

   The river's estuary, part of the Bristol Channel, has the second
   largest tidal range in the world — about 15 metres, exceeded only by
   the Bay of Fundy in Canada — and at spring tides, the rising water is
   funnelled up the estuary into a wave that travels rapidly upstream
   against the river current; enthusiasts even attempt to surf along on
   the wave, which can be 2 m high. In 2006, a world record surf was
   achieved, for the longest-ever 'surf', by Steve King, a railway
   engineer from Gloucestershire, England. (Note that the Gloucester
   Harbour Trustees, as competent harbour authority for this part of the
   river, explicitly advise against this pastime.) Being the onset of the
   flood tide it is accompanied by a rapid rise in water level which
   continues for about one and a half hours after the bore has passed. The
   Severn Bore is a natural example of a self-reinforcing solitary wave or
   soliton.

Tidal Power

   The huge tidal range (15m) and high level of surrounding industry and
   population have long made the Severn estuary a focus for tidal energy
   schemes and ideas. Plans for a Severn Barrage - running 16 km (10
   miles) from Lavernock Point near to and south west of Cardiff to Brean
   Down near and just south west of Weston Super Mare in Somerset - would
   generate a massive 8640 MW when the tide flows, and have been discussed
   for several decades now. The power generated, coming from a lake of 185
   square miles and 14 m potential energy depth, would be equivalent to 12
   nuclear power stations. Tidal power only runs for some 10 hours a day,
   but by using the enclosed lake as a reservoir of potential energy more
   hours of operation could be achieved. Other energy sources, such as
   wind and solar power, also create electricity at times that do not
   always match when it is needed. Excess power could be stored by pumping
   water uphill, as is already done at a variety of other installations in
   the UK.

   The UK Government shelved the plans in the late 1980s due largely to
   cost issues and local environmental concerns. However, this was before
   recent huge rises in the price of energy, and before Global Warming had
   started to be taken seriously. As of 2006 the idea has been revitalised
   and now looks likely to be implemented.

   Because global warming and nuclear power station waste and
   decomissioning have such vast environmental effects, the small
   environmental impact of the Severn Barrage is an overall reduction in
   impact. Further work is required to decrease the environmental impact
   of the project.

Industry

   A six-mile stretch of the Severn valley in Shropshire, known as the
   Ironbridge Gorge, was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in
   1986. Its historic importance is due to its role as the centre of the
   iron industry in the early stages of Britain's Industrial Revolution.
   Ironbridge gets its name from the bridge across the Severn, built in
   1779, which was the first cast-iron bridge ever constructed.

Wildlife

   The sides of the estuary are also important feeding grounds for waders,
   notably at the Bridgwater Bay National Nature Reserve and the
   Slimbridge Wildfowl Trust.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Severn"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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