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River Thames

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:''This article is about the River Thames in southern England. For other meanings of the word Thames, see Thames (disambiguation)'' {{Infobox_river | river_name = Thames | image_name = lambeth.bridge.arp.750pix.jpg | caption = The River Thames in London | origin = Kemble, Gloucestershire Kemble | mouth = North Sea | basin_countries = England | length = 346 km (215 mi) | elevation = 110 m (360 ft) | discharge = Entering Oxford: 17.6 cubic meter mÂ³/second s
Leaving Oxford: 24.8 cubic meter mÂ³/second s
Reading, Berkshire Reading: 39.7 cubic meter mÂ³/second s
Windsor, Berkshire Windsor: 59.3 cubic meter mÂ³/second s
London #Notes Â¹: 65.8 cubic meter mÂ³/second s | watershed = 12,935 km² (4,994 mi²) }} The '''Thames''' (International Phonetic Alphabet pronounced /{{IPA|tÉ›mz}}/) is a river flowing through southern England and connecting London with the sea.

History

Pre-history
* ''See, Timeline of environmental events'' Image:CanalettoSomersetHouseTerrace.jpg Somerset House.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|250px|View of the River Thames from the terrace at [[Somerset House, by Canaletto Antonio Canaletto.html" title="Meaning of right|250px|View of the River Thames from the terrace at [[Somerset House">thumb|right|250px|View of the River Thames from the terrace at [[Somerset House, by Canaletto Antonio Canaletto">right|250px|View of the River Thames from the terrace at [[Somerset House">thumb|right|250px|View of the River Thames from the terrace at [[Somerset House, by Canaletto Antonio Canaletto From over 600,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene ice age, until the Anglian glaciation around 475,000 years ago, the early River Thames flowed from Wales to Clacton-on-Sea, and crossed what is now the North Sea to become a tributary of the Rhine. The river followed a path through Buckinghamshire, the southern part of Hertfordshire and Essex, running from the area of modern Staines up the valley of the River Colne, Hertfordshire Colne to Hatfield and then eastward across Essex towards the primeval Rhine. It was later diverted by encroaching ice down the valley of the modern River Lea to its present estuary position. This path was then itself blocked by a mass of ice near Hatfield, Hertfordshire Hatfield and a lake ponded up to the west of this around St Albans. Waters eventually overflowed near Staines to cut the path of the modern Thames through central London. When the ice retreated about 400,000 years ago the river bed along the new route followed the lower path and so the river remained on its present day course. The flow in the Colne valley then reversed, now flowing south as a tributary into the modern Thames. Superficial gravel deposits from the primordial Thames are found throughout the Vale of St. Albans. Image:River Thames at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire, England.JPG Cliveden.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|left|250px|View of the River Thames from the river walk at [[Cliveden.html" title="Meaning of left|250px|View of the River Thames from the river walk at [[Cliveden">thumb|left|250px|View of the River Thames from the river walk at [[Cliveden">left|250px|View of the River Thames from the river walk at [[Cliveden">thumb|left|250px|View of the River Thames from the river walk at [[Cliveden Numerous iron age hoards found in the lower Thames indicate the religious importance of the river. The skulls found near Hammersmith have been interpreted both as human sacrifices and as victims of Boudica's revolt. Within the Geologic timescale human timescale, following the example of the local Celts, the Ancient Rome Romans called the river ''Tamesis'': Julius Caesar (''De Bello Gallica''), Cassius Dio (xl. 3) and Tacitus (''Annals (Tacitus) Annals'' xiv. 32).{{ref|skulls}} image:river.thames.view.london.arp.jpg thumb|right|250px|View across the River Thames from the south side of [[Tower Bridge. Two of Londonâ€™s tallest buildings are visible: immediately to the right of the street lamp is Tower 42 (183 metres, 600 feet, once called the NatWest Tower) while on the right is the interestingly shaped Swiss Re Tower (180 metres, 590 feet).
On the far right is the Tower of London]]

Recorded history
The Thames provided the major highway between London and Westminster in the 16th and 17th centuries. The clannish guild of watermen ferried Londoners from landing to landing, and tolerated no outside interference. A versifying waterman, John Taylor (poet) John Taylor the Water Poet (1580—1654), described the river in a poem commemorating a voyage from Oxford to London, In the 17th century 17th and 18th century 18th centuries, during the period now referred to as the Little Ice Age, the Thames often froze over in the winter. This led to the first Thames frost fairs Frost Fair in 1607, complete with a tent city set up on the river itself and offering a number of amusements, including ice bowling. After temperatures began to rise again, starting in 1814, the river has never frozen over completely. The building of a new London Bridge in 1825 may also have been a factor; the new bridge had fewer pillars than the old and so allowed the river to flow more freely, thus preventing it from flowing slowly enough to freeze in cold winters. By the 18th century, the Thames was one of the world's busiest waterways, as London became the centre of the vast, mercantile British Empire. During this time one of the worst river disasters in England took place on 3 September 1878 on the Thames, when the crowded pleasure boat ''Princess Alice'' collided with the ''Bywell Castle'' killing over 640. image:river.thames.viewfromtowerbridge.london.arp.jpg Tower Bridge.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|left|250px|View looking west, from the high-level walkway on [[Tower Bridge. Click on the picture for a longer description.html" title="Meaning of left|250px|View looking west, from the high-level walkway on [[Tower Bridge">thumb|left|250px|View looking west, from the high-level walkway on [[Tower Bridge. Click on the picture for a longer description">left|250px|View looking west, from the high-level walkway on [[Tower Bridge">thumb|left|250px|View looking west, from the high-level walkway on [[Tower Bridge. Click on the picture for a longer description In the 'Great Stink' of 1858, pollution in the river became so bad that sittings at the British House of Commons House of Commons at Westminster had to be abandoned. A concerted effort to contain the city's sewage by constructing massive sewers on the north and south river embankments followed, under the supervision of engineer Joseph Bazalgette. The coming of rail transport rail and road transportation, and the decline of the Empire in the years following 1914, have reduced the prominence of the river. London itself is no longer a port of any note, and the Port of London has moved downstream to Tilbury. In return, the Thames has undergone a massive clean-up from the filthy days of the late 19th century 19th and early- to mid-20th century 20th centuries, and life has returned to its formerly dead waters. In the early 1980s, a massive flood-control device, the Thames Barrier, was opened. It is closed several times a year to prevent water damage to London's low-lying areas upstream. In the late 1990s, the 12-km-long Jubilee River was built, which acts as a flood channel for the Thames around Maidenhead and Windsor.{{ref|jubilee}}

Name origin
The river's name appears always to have been pronounced with a simple "t" at the beginning; the Middle English spelling was typically ''Temese'' and Latin language Latin ''Tamesis''. The "th" lends an air of Greek language Greek to the name and was added during the Renaissance, possibly to reflect or support a belief that the name was derived from River Thyamis in the Epirus (region) Epirus region of Greece, whence early Celt Celtic tribes are thought to have migrated. However, most scholars now believe ''Temese'' and ''Tamesis'' come from Celtic languages Celtic (Brythonic) ''Tamesa'', perhaps meaning "the dark one". But Rickett & Smith (The Place-Names of Roman Britain) reported that it is more probably based upon Proto-Indo-European language Proto-Indo-European ta- with a meaning â€œto flowâ€?. This view was first postulated by Nacolaisen in 1957. There are a large number of river names commencing with this element, which can be divided into three groups (see also River Isis). The name Isis, given to the part of the river running through Oxford, may have came from the Egyptian mythology Egyptian river god of that name but is believed to be a contraction of ''Tamesis'', the Latin (or pre-Roman Celtic) name. It may be that the name Isis was a fanciful and neo-classical one, given by the university population as a type of pet name. The actual derivation is obscure, so conjecture prevails. Richard Coates has recently suggested that the river was called the Thames upriver where it was narrower, and Plowonida down river where it was too wide to ford. This gave the name to a settlement on its banks, which became known as Londinium from the original root Plowonida derived from pre-celtic Old European 'plew' and 'nejd,' meaning something like the flowing river or the wide flowing unfordable river.{{ref|legends}}

Geography

Course
Image:Thames_map.png right|Map of the River Thames The Thames has a length of 346 Kilometre km (215 miles). Its source (at Ordnance Survey grid reference ST 980 994) is about a mile north of the village of Kemble, Gloucestershire Kemble, near Cirencester in the Cotswolds. It then flows through Lechlade, Oxford, Abingdon, Oxfordshire Abingdon, Wallingford, Reading, Berkshire Reading, Henley-on-Thames, Marlow, Buckinghamshire Marlow, Maidenhead, Windsor, Berkshire Windsor, Eton, Berkshire Eton, Staines and Weybridge, before entering the Greater London area. From the outskirts of Greater London, the river passes Syon House, Hampton Court, Kingston upon Thames Kingston, Richmond upon Thames Richmond (with the famous view of the Thames from Richmond Hill) and Kew before flowing through central London. In central London, the river forms one of the principal axes of the city, from the Palace of Westminster to the Tower of London. Once clear of central London, the river passes Greenwich and Dartford before entering the sea in a drowned estuary near Southend-on-Sea. In terms of counties, the Thames rises in Gloucestershire, traditionally forming the county boundary, firstly between Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, between Berkshire on the south bank and Oxfordshire on the north, between Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, between Berkshire and Surrey, between Surrey and Middlesex, and between Essex, England Essex and Kent. Before the 1974 boundary changes, the current boundary between Berkshire and Surrey was between Buckinghamshire and Surrey. The Oxfordshire - Berkshire boundary was also moved at that time. The area to the west of London is normally called the Thames Valley, whilst east of Tower Bridge development agencies and Ministers have taken to using the term ''Thames Gateway''.

Catchment area and discharge
Image:Map of the River Thames downstream from London 1840.JPG thumb|right|250px|The lower course of the Thames in 1840 The whole of the River Thames drains a catchment area of some 12,935 square km (4994 square miles) (or 15,343 square km (5924 square miles) if the River Medway is included as a tributary).{{ref|catchment}} See ''Rivers of Great Britain'' for a full list of tributaries.

=The non-tidal section
= Innumerable brooks, streams and rivers, within an area of 9948 square km (3841 square miles), combine to form 38 main tributaries feeding the Thames between its source and Teddington. These include the rivers River Churn Churn, River Leach Leach, River Cole Cole, River Coln Coln, River Windrush Windrush, River Evenlode Evenlode, River Cherwell Cherwell, River Ock Ock, River Thame Thame, River Pang Pang, River Kennet Kennet, River Loddon Loddon, River Colne Colne, River Wey Wey and River Mole Mole. Between Maidenhead and Windsor, the Thames supports an artificial secondary channel, known as the Jubilee River, for flood relief purposes. More than half the rain that falls on this catchment is lost to evaporation and plant growth. The remainder provides the water resource that has to be shared between river flows, to support the natural environment, and the community needs for water supplies to homes, industry and agriculture.

=The tidal section
= About 90 km from the sea, at Teddington, the river begins to exhibit tide tidal activity from the North Sea. This tidal stretch of the river is known as "the Tideway". London was reputedly made capital of Roman Britain at the spot where the tides reached in 43 AD 43, but this spot has moved up river in the 2000 years since then. At London, the water is slightly brackish water brackish with sea salt. Below Teddington, the principal tributary tributaries include the rivers River Brent Brent, River Wandle Wandle, River Effra Effra, River Westbourne Westbourne, River Fleet Fleet, River Ravensbourne Ravensbourne (the final part of which is called Deptford Creek), River Lea Lea, River Darent Darent and River Ingrebourne Ingrebourne. The average discharge of the Thames grows up to approximately 66 m3/s (cumecs) at the end of its non-tidal section at Kingston upon Thames, a figure which is exceeded by some other British rivers (e.g., the River Severn Severn and the River Tay Tay). Indeed, if the Thames were not a tidal river, its average discharge in the centre of London would be somewhere between 80 and 100 m³/s, and the Thames would look like a small river, not the large river we can see today by Westminster, the Houses of Parliament or the City.

Navigation
Image:Bray lock, Berkshire.JPG thumb|right|250px|Bray lock, Berkshire The River Thames is navigable from the estuary as far as Lechlade in Gloucestershire. Between the sea and Teddington Lock, the river forms part of the Port of London and navigation is administered by the Port of London Authority. From Teddington Lock to the head of navigation, the navigation authority is the Environment Agency. The river is navigable to large ocean-going ships as far as the Pool of London and London Bridge. Today little commercial traffic passes above the docks at Tilbury, and central London sees only the occasional visiting cruise ship or naval ship warship moored alongside HMS Belfast and a few smaller aggregate or waste refuse vessels operating from wharf wharves in the west of London. Both the tidal river through London and the non-tidal river upstream are intensively used for leisure navigation. There are 45 Canal lock locks on the River Thames. See Locks on the River Thames for a full list of all locks.

Crossings
Image:Railway bridge Maidenhead.jpeg thumb|right|250px|Railway bridge at Maidenhead The River Thames is crossed by many bridges and tunnels. Famous crossings of the Thames include: * Dartford Crossing * Thames Barrier * Blackwall Tunnel * Rotherhithe Tunnel * Thames Tunnel * Tower Bridge * London Bridge * London Millennium Bridge Millennium Bridge * Hungerford Bridge * Westminster Bridge * Maidenhead Railway Bridge * Marlow Bridge See Crossings of the River Thames for a full list of all crossings.

Islands
Image:Thames sunset.jpg Greenwich.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|250px|Sunset on the river Thames viewed from [[Greenwich.html" title="Meaning of right|250px|Sunset on the river Thames viewed from [[Greenwich">thumb|right|250px|Sunset on the river Thames viewed from [[Greenwich">right|250px|Sunset on the river Thames viewed from [[Greenwich">thumb|right|250px|Sunset on the river Thames viewed from [[Greenwich Famous islands in the Thames include: * Isle of Sheppey * Canvey Island * Isle of Grain * Eel Pie Island, Twickenham * Magna Carta Island, Runnymede * Fry's Island, Reading, Berkshire Reading (sometimes known as ''De Montfort Island'') See Islands in the River Thames for a full list of all islands.

Culture

Literature
The Thames is a motif in many books. ''Three Men in a Boat'' by Jerome K. Jerome describes a boat trip up the Thames, as does Connie Willis's ''To Say Nothing of the Dog''. Somewhere near the Oxford stretch is where the Liddells were rowing in the poem at the start of ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. The river is mentioned in both ''The Wind in the Willows'' and the play ''Toad of Toad Hall''. The utopian News from Nowhere is mainly the account of a journey through the Thames valley in a socialist future. In books set in London there is Sherlock Holmes looking for a boat in ''The Sign of Four''; in ''Oliver Twist'', Bill Sikes kills Nancy just near the river. Also, Dickens' late mystery novel Our Mutual Friend begins with a scavenger and his daughter pulling a dead man from the river, to legally salvage what the body might have in its pockets. Dickens opens the novel with this sketch of the river, and the people who work on it:

''In these times of ours, though concerning the exact year there is no need to be precise, a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames, between Southwark bridge which is of iron, and London Bridge which is of stone, as an autumn evening was closing in.''

The Thames also features prominently in Philip Pullman's ''His Dark Materials'' trilogy, as a communications artery for the waterborne Gyptian people of Oxford and the Fens. In poetry, T.S. Eliot references the Thames at the beginning of The Fire Sermon, Section III of "The Wasteland". In ''Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph Conrad, the Thames is featured as the river on which Marlow begins his yarn. The serenity of the Thames is mean to contrast the savagery of the Congo River. Conrad also gives a memorable description of the approach to London from the Thames Estuary in his essays q:Joseph Conrad#On the River Thames ''The Mirror of the Sea'' (1906).

Sport
Image:River thames oxford.jpg thumb|right|250px|The River Thames in Oxford sport rowing Rowing and sailing are the main sports which take place on the River Thames. There are many clubs which encourage participation in these sports and organise racing and inter-club competitions.

=Sailing Clubs on the non-tidal river
= (in order downstream) *Medley Sailing Club - Oxford *Abbey SC - Abingdon *Goring Thames SC *Henley SC *Marlow SC *Upper Thames SC - Bourne End *Cookham Reach SC *Staines SC *London River Yacht Club - Kingston-upon-Thames *Desborough SC - Shepperton *Weybridge SC *Aquarius SC - Hampton *Hampton SC *Thames SC - Surbiton *Tamesis Club - Teddington

=Rowing
= Two important events in the English sporting calendar occur on the River Thames. The University Boat Race is rowed between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge on the tidal portion of the river from Putney to Mortlake in the west of London. The Henley Royal Regatta is another Sport rowing rowing event which takes place over a number of days at the upstream town of Henley-on-Thames; besides its sporting significance the regatta is an important date on the English Season (society) social calendar alongside events like Ascot Racecourse Royal Ascot and Wimbledon Championships Wimbledon.

Trivia
* The Sex Pistols played a concert on the Queen Elizabeth Riverboat on June 7, 1977, the Queen's Silver Jubilee, while sailing down the river. * On January 20, 2006, a northern 16-18ft (5m) bottle-nosed whale was spotted in the Thames and was seen as far upstream as Chelsea. This is extremely unusual because this type of whale is generally found in deep sea waters. Crowds gathered along the riverbanks to witness the extraordinary spectacle. But it soon became clear there was cause for concern, as the animal came within yards of the banks, almost beaching, and crashed into an empty boat causing slight bleeding. Approx. 12 hours later, the whale was believed to be seen again near Greenwich, possibly heading back to sea [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4633376.stm]. There was a rescue attempt lasting several hours, but it eventually died on a barge. ''See River Thames whale''. * Amongst unusual objects floated along the Thames include a Eurostar Railway locomotive, a Concorde aircraft and a U boat Submarine. * It is not unusual to see the French navy in the Thames, very often French naval vessels make official visits to the Royal Navy dock, HMS President, just by the Tower Bridge.

Religion
When a Roman Catholic Church Roman Catholic converts to Anglicanism, that person is said to have "swum the Thames". The reverse is referred to as "swimming the Tiber".

See also
* Marchioness disaster * Torso in the Thames * River and Rowing Museum * Rivers of the United Kingdom * UK topics * Thames Town * Thames Television * River Thames whale

References
* {{note|catchment}} Dot & Ian Hart (2001â€“2005 5). ''[http://www.the-river-thames.co.uk/thames.htm The River Thames â€” Its geology, geography and vital statistics from source to sea]''. Retrieved November 1, 2005. * {{note|skulls}} Richard Bradley/K. Gordon. "Human skulls from the river Thames, their dating and significance." ''Antiquity (journal) Antiquity.'' v.62, 1988, 503 ff. * {{note|legends}} Culteral Heritage Resources (2005). ''[http://chr.org.uk/legends.htm Legendary Origins and the Origin of London's place name]''. Retrieved November 1, 2005. * {{note|jubilee}} Environment Agency (2005). ''[http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/recreation/345623/631029/346131/348128/349190/349293/?lang=_e&theme=®ion=&subject=&searchfor=Jubilee+River&any_all=all&choose_order=&exactphrase=&withoutwords=&exclude_itemtype=Station%2C&include_itemtype=Acrobat%20Document%2CAttached%20File_e%2CAttached%20File_w%2CHTML%20Page%2C Jubilee River]''. Retrieved November 1, 2005.

External links
{{Commons|Category:Thames|the River Thames}}
- '''The River Thames Guide''' - Detailed information (boats, boating, hotels, things to do, etc.) from source to estuary
- The official guide to the non-tidal Thames â€” Boating, fishing and leisure
- River Thames
- Article includes map of the River Thames catchment area
- The History of London Bridges
- Thames Gallery at the River and Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames
- Worlds Largest Thames Pleasure boat & Tug Site
- The Thames Path
- The Thames Path National Trail
- The Thames from Hampton Court to Sunbury Lock
- Photos of the Thames at central London
- Walks along the Thames Path
- Source of the Thames from [http://maps.google.com Google Maps] â€” this map stops tracing the river at Ashton Keynes, south-west from Kemble
- Michael Pead :: Photos of the River Thames
- Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide - by John Eade Category:Rivers in Berkshire Thames, River Category:Rivers in Buckinghamshire Thames, River Category:Rivers in Essex Thames, River Category:Rivers in Gloucestershire Thames, River Category:Rivers in Kent Thames, River Category:Rivers in London Thames, River Category:Rivers in Oxfordshire Thames, River Category:Rivers in Surrey Thames, River Category:Visitor attractions in London Thames, River Category:River Thames Category:Rivers of England Thames, River {{Link FA|cy}} als:Themse bg:Ð¢ÐµÐ¼Ð·Ð° cs:TemÅ¾e cy:Afon Tafwys da:Themsen de:Themse et:Thames es:TÃ¡mesis eo:Tamizo eu:Thames ibai fr:Tamise it:Tamigi he:×ª×ž×–×” la:Thamesis hu:Temze nl:Theems nds:Thems ja:ãƒ†ãƒ ã‚ºå·? no:Themsen pl:Tamiza pt:Rio TÃ¢misa ro:Tamisa ru:Ð¢ÐµÐ¼Ð·Ð° (Ñ€ÐµÐºÐ°) simple:River Thames fi:Thames sv:Themsen zh:æ³°æ™¤å£«æ²³ {{catmore}} Category:Rivers in Berkshire Thames, River Category:Rivers in Buckinghamshire Thames, River Category:Rivers in Essex Thames, River Category:Rivers in Gloucestershire Thames, River Category:Rivers in Kent Thames, River Category:Rivers in London Thames, River Category:Rivers in Oxfordshire Thames, River Category:Rivers in Surrey Thames, River Category:Visitor attractions in London Thames, River Category:Rivers of England Thames, River

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