The Thames River in London is Britain's largest and most popular body of water. Its source is located on the hill of Cotswold Hills, in the western part of England. It flows into the North Sea with a funnel-shaped mouth, forming the Thames estuary. The width of the final section is 16 km, and it is considered one of the largest in Europe. Often the Thames is quite dangerous for England, because the height of the tides can reach 6 meters or more. Because of this, the river in London undergoes a rise in water levels and floods nearby territories.
In economic terms, the role of the Thames is also great. The main means of distributing drinking water in the capital is the Thames water ring. Also, the river is navigable, but not along its entire length, only to the city of Lechleid.
Fishing for industrial purposes (using traps) in recent years is prohibited. But the Thames is very popular among the British. Guest houses and cottages with river views are being built everywhere on the shore.
Thames is widely used for public transportation. There are several routes. Some of them are used by the state for tourist excursions, the rest are used by residents as regular transport (for example, to get to work).
For the 2012 Summer Olympics, a cableway leading to Greenwich was launched over the river. This project was implemented by a company specializing in air transport, Emirates. The construction took less than a year (completed in 2012). At the moment, 2500 people per hour are transported.
The emergence of hydronym
The origin of the name of the river has two most common variations. According to one version, the word "Thames" is of Celtic origin, which means "dark." This theory is supported by current translations of the word from Irish and Welsh - “darkness”, “darkness”. According to another version, the name of the river has an even more ancient origin, and the word is translated as “melt” from pre-Celtic dialects.
The first mention of the Thames is rooted in the Roman era. Julius Caesar, making one of his campaigns, founded the trading city of Londinium on the Thames. The river in London was used to transport goods from England and back.
Characteristic
Thames has a length of 334 km. On the Cotswold Upland, the width of the channel is small. The beginning of the reservoir has a height of 108 meters above sea level, and going down the hill, it spreads over a wide valley. Of particular importance is the fact that the river flows through London - the capital of the Kingdom. This is what plays a big role in the economic and economic activity of the country.
The source is often called the "7 keys." Here, another reservoir originates - Chern. He, together with the Thames, forms a single stream, interrupted only on Cotswold Hill. If you add the length of Cern (23 km), the water area of the two rivers will be the largest in England, exceeding the size of the Severn River by 14 km.
Shores and land
The channel of the reservoir is winding, often forks, and islands form in the water area. There are about 80 of them. The river in London receives food from tributaries, of which it has more than 20. The main branches are located in the northern part of the Thames. The riverbanks are different. Right - low, gentle, is a valley with small hills. The left one is tall and steep. However, when the body of water reaches the limits of the London basin, both land boundaries are leveled, gentle slopes spread. At this moment, the river has a width of 250 m.
Fauna
The current course of this stream is not entirely natural. In order for the river in London to provide water to the entire capital, special canals were built that slightly changed the direction of the river. The Thames in its composition has both fresh and salt water. There is a lot of sea water because of the wide mouth of the river. Due to this feature, the Thames is rich in diversity in flora and fauna.
London stands on a river that is inhabited by both marine and freshwater fish. Of the marine species in the Thames, salmon and eel live, and freshwater ones are represented by perch, pike, flounder, and dace. An abundance of crustaceans, crabs.
Mute swans are quite commonplace for the British. They nest and feed on the river everywhere. In England, there is even a special custom - "the census of the swan population." All swan families are recorded in a special book. In addition to these important birds, cormorants, silver gulls, English geese and mandarin ducks nest on the Thames waters.
The vegetation on the river is very impressive. Here are collected specimens (rare) that are found by units around the world. Among them there are early flowering species and those that conquer their beauty in late autumn.