1.
Subterranean river
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A subterranean river is a river that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground surface – one where the riverbed does not represent the surface of the Earth. It should also not be confused with an aquifer which may flow like a river but is contained within a layer of rock or other unconsolidated materials. Subterranean rivers may be natural, flowing through cave systems. In karst topography, rivers may disappear through sinkholes, continuing underground, in some cases, they may emerge into daylight further downstream. Some fish and other organisms are adapted to life in subterranean rivers. Subterranean rivers can also be the result of covering over a river and/or diverting its flow into culverts, reversing this process is known as daylighting a stream and is a visible form of river restoration. One successful example is the Cheonggye Stream in the centre of Seoul, examples of subterranean rivers also occur in mythology and literature. There are many examples of subterranean rivers. Among others, The Camuy River located in the region of Puerto Rico is one of the largest underground river systems in the world. Greek mythology included the Styx, Phlegethon, Acheron, Cocytus, dante Alighieri, in his Inferno, included the Acheron, Phlegethon, and Styx as rivers within his subterranean Hell. The river Alph, running Through caverns measureless to man / Down to a sea is central to the poem Kubla Khan. The characters in Jules Vernes A Journey to the Centre of the Earth encounter a river, Hans was not mistaken. What you hear is the rushing of a torrent, there can be no doubt, a subterranean river is flowing around us. Several other novels also feature subterranean rivers, but in the end where a river has been, a river will always be. Hamza River Abîme Karst Losing stream Speleology Subterranean rivers of London Subterranean rivers in Hong Kong Subterranean waterfall Toronto ravine system Hamilton ravine system Underground lake
2.
River Thames
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The River Thames is a river that flows through southern England, most notably through London. At 215 miles, it is the longest river entirely in England and it also flows through Oxford, Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor. The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway, derived from its tidal reach up to Teddington Lock. It rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, and flows into the North Sea via the Thames Estuary, the Thames drains the whole of Greater London. Its tidal section, reaching up to Teddington Lock, includes most of its London stretch and has a rise, in Scotland, the Tay achieves more than double the average discharge from a drainage basin that is 60% smaller. Along its course are 45 navigation locks with accompanying weirs and its catchment area covers a large part of South Eastern and a small part of Western England and the river is fed by 38 named tributaries. The river contains over 80 islands, in 2010, the Thames won the largest environmental award in the world – the $350,000 International Riverprize. The Thames, from Middle English Temese, is derived from the Brittonic Celtic name for the river, Tamesas, recorded in Latin as Tamesis and yielding modern Welsh Tafwys Thames. It has also suggested that it is not of Celtic origin. A place by the river, rather than the river itself, indirect evidence for the antiquity of the name Thames is provided by a Roman potsherd found at Oxford, bearing the inscription Tamesubugus fecit. It is believed that Tamesubugus name was derived from that of the river, tamese was referred to as a place, not a river in the Ravenna Cosmography. The rivers name has always pronounced with a simple t /t/, the Middle English spelling was typically Temese. A similar spelling from 1210, Tamisiam, is found in the Magna Carta, the Thames through Oxford is sometimes called the Isis. Ordnance Survey maps still label the Thames as River Thames or Isis down to Dorchester, richard Coates suggests that while the river was as a whole called the Thames, part of it, where it was too wide to ford, was called *lowonida. An alternative, and simpler proposal, is that London may also be a Germanic word, for merchant seamen, the Thames has long been just the London River. Londoners often refer to it simply as the river in such as south of the river. Thames Valley Police is a body that takes its name from the river. The marks of human activity, in cases dating back to Pre-Roman Britain, are visible at various points along the river
3.
Vauxhall Bridge
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Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a south–east north–west direction between Vauxhall on the bank and Pimlico on the north bank. The original bridge was built on the site of a former ferry, the building of both bridges was problematic, with both the first and second bridges requiring several redesigns from multiple architects. The original bridge, the first iron bridge over the Thames, was built by a private company and operated as a toll bridge before being taken into public ownership in 1879. The second bridge, which eight years to build, was the first in London to carry trams. With the exception of alterations to the layout and the balustrade. The bridge today is an important part of Londons road system, in the early 13th century, Anglo-Norman mercenary Falkes de Breauté built a manor house in the then empty marshlands of South Lambeth, across the River Thames from Westminster. The lands surrounding his Lambeth manor house continued to be known as Falkes Hall, in 1809 a new bill was presented to Parliament, and the proprietors of Battersea Bridge agreed to allow it to pass and to accept compensation. The Bill incorporated the Vauxhall Bridge Company, allowing it to raise up to £300,000 by means of mortgages or the sale of shares, and to keep all profits from any tolls raised. From these profits, the Vauxhall Bridge Company was obliged to compensate the proprietors of Battersea Bridge for any drop in revenue caused by the new bridge, dodd submitted a scheme for a bridge at Vauxhall of 13 arches. However, soon after the 1809 Act was passed, he was dismissed by the Vauxhall Bridge Company, john Rennie was commissioned to design and build the new bridge, and a stone bridge of seven arches was approved. On 9 May 1811, Lord Dundas laid the stone of the bridge on the northern bank. Rennie submitted a new design for a bridge of eleven spans. Rennies design was rejected, and instead construction began on a nine arch iron bridge designed by Samuel Bentham, concerns were raised about the construction of the piers, and engineer James Walker was appointed to inspect the work. On 4 June 1816, over five years after construction began, the opened, initially named Regent Bridge after George, Prince Regent. The bridge cost £175,000 to build, with the costs of approach roads and compensation payments, exemptions were granted for mail coaches, soldiers on duty and parliamentary candidates during election campaigns. However, the area around the failed to develop as expected. Meanwhile, the large Millbank Penitentiary was built near the end of the bridge
4.
Tributary
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A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean, tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean. A confluence, where two or more bodies of water together, usually refers to the joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary, a river or stream that branches off from, distributaries are most often found in river deltas. Right tributary and left tributary are terms stating the orientation of the relative to the flow of the main stem river. These terms are defined from the perspective of looking downstream, where tributaries have the same name as the river into which they feed, they are called forks. These are typically designated by compass direction, for example, the American River receives flow from its North, Middle, and South forks. The Chicago Rivers North Branch has the East, West, and Middle Fork, the South Branch has its South Fork, forks are sometimes designated as right or left. Here, the handedness is from the point of view of an observer facing upstream, for instance, Steer Creek has a left tributary which is called Right Fork Steer Creek. Tributaries are sometimes listed starting with those nearest to the source of the river, the Strahler Stream Order examines the arrangement of tributaries in a hierarchy of first, second, third, and higher orders, with the first-order tributary being typically the least in size. For example, a second-order tributary would be the result of two or more first-order tributaries combining to form the second-order tributary, another method is to list tributaries from mouth to source, in the form of a tree structure, stored as a tree data structure
5.
River Lea
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It is one of the largest rivers in London and the easternmost major tributary of the Thames. Its valley creates a chain of marshy ground along its lower length, much of which has been used for gravel and mineral extraction, reservoirs. The river has been canalised to provide a route for boats into eastern Hertfordshire. While the lower Lea remains somewhat polluted, its stretch and tributaries. A diversion known as the New River, opened in 1613 and its origins in the Chilterns contribute to the extreme hardness of London tap water. The name of the River Lea was first recorded in the 9th century, spellings from the Anglo-Saxon period include Ligan in 880 and Lygan in 895, and in the early medieval period it is usually Luye or Leye. It seems to be derived from a Celtic root lug-meaning bright or light which is also the derivation of a name for a deity, a simpler derivation may well be the Brythonic word cognate with the modern Welsh Li pronounced Lea which means a flow or a current. The spelling Lea predominates west of Hertford, but both spellings are used from Hertford to the River Thames, the Lee Navigation was established by Acts of Parliament and only that spelling is used in this context. The Lee Valley Regional Park Authority also uses this spelling for leisure facilities, however, the spelling Lea is used for road names, locations and other infrastructure in the capital, such as Leamouth, Lea Bridge, the Lea Valley Walk and the Lea Valley Railway Lines. This spelling is used in geology, archaeology, etc. to refer to the Lea Valley. The divergent spellings of the river are also reflected in the place-names of Luton and Leyton, both mean farmstead on the River Lea. The source is said to be at Well Head inside Wauluds Bank at Leagrave, but there the River Lea is also fed by Houghton Brook. It forms the boundary between the counties of Middlesex and Essex, and was used for part of the Danelaw boundary. It also forms part of the boundary between Essex and Hertfordshire, for much of its distance the river runs within or as a boundary to the Lee Valley Park. Between Tottenham and Hackney the Lea feeds Tottenham Marshes, Walthamstow Marshes, in their early days, Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient played their matches as football amateurs on the Marshes. South of Hackney Wick the rivers course is split, running almost completely in man made channels flowing through an area that was once an industrial zone. Inside Greater London below Enfield Lock the river forms the boundary with the former Royal Small Arms Factory, now known as Enfield Island Village, just downstream the river is joined by the River Lee Flood Relief Channel. At Tottenham Hale there is a set of reservoirs, Lockwood Reservoir, High Maynard Reservoir, Low Maynard Reservoir, Walthamstow Reservoirs, East Warwick Reservoir
6.
Culvert
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A culvert is a structure that allows water to flow under a road, railroad, trail, or similar obstruction from one side to the other side. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, in the United Kingdom the word can also be used for a longer artificially buried watercourse. A structure that carries water above land is known as an aqueduct, Culverts are commonly used both as cross-drains for ditch relief and to pass water under a road at natural drainage and stream crossings. A culvert may be a structure designed to allow vehicle or pedestrian traffic to cross over the waterway while allowing adequate passage for the water. Culverts come in sizes and shapes including round, elliptical, flat-bottomed, pear-shaped. The culvert type and shape selection is based on a number of factors including requirements for performance, limitation on upstream water surface elevation. The process of removing culverts, which is becoming increasingly prevalent, is known as daylighting, in the UK, the practice is also known as deculverting. Culverts can be constructed of a variety of materials including cast-in-place or precast concrete, galvanized steel, aluminum, or plastic, two or more materials may be combined to form composite structures. For example, open-bottom corrugated steel structures are built on concrete footings. Culverts must be sized and installed, and protected from erosion. Most agencies adhere to these standards when designing, engineering, if the failure is sudden and catastrophic, it can result in injury or loss of life. Sudden road collapses are often at poorly designed and engineered culvert crossing sites, water passing through undersized culverts will scour away the surrounding soil over time. This can cause a failure during medium-sized rain events. There are more than 5,000,000 culverts currently in use in the United States alone, continued inspection, maintenance, and replacement of these structures is crucial for infrastructure and safety. Accidents due to culvert failure can occur if a culvert has not been adequately sized. Improperly designed backfill support around aluminum or plastic culverts can result in material collapse or failure from inadequate load support. Soil and sand carried through a culvert can wear away the galvanizing of a culvert, allowing it to corrode and eventually collapse. This happened at a culvert near Gosford, New South Wales in 2007, safe and stable stream crossings can accommodate wildlife and protect stream health while reducing expensive erosion and structural damage
7.
River Fleet
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The River Fleet is the largest of Londons subterranean rivers. Its headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath, each of which was dammed into a series of ponds, the Hampstead Ponds, at the southern edge of Hampstead Heath these descend underground as sewers and join in Camden Town. The waters flow 4 mi from the ponds to the River Thames, the river gives its name to Fleet Street, the eastern end of which is at what was historically the crossing over the river known as Fleet Bridge, and is now the site of Ludgate Circus. The Fleet arises on Hampstead Heath as two sources, which flow on the surface as the Hampstead Ponds and the Highgate Ponds. Then they go underground, pass under Kentish Town, join in Camden Town, Kings Cross was originally named Battle Bridge, referring to an ancient bridge over the Fleet where Boudicas army is said to have fought an important battle against the Romans. The river then flows down Farringdon Road and Farringdon Street, the rivers name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon flēot tidal inlet. In Anglo-Saxon times, the Fleet served as a dock for shipping, the higher reaches of the river were known as the Holbourne, whence Holborn derived its name. The river gives its name to Fleet Street which runs from Ludgate Circus to Temple Bar at the Strand, in the 1970s, a London Underground tube line was planned to lie under the line of Fleet Street, provisionally named the Fleet line. However, it was renamed the Jubilee line in 1977, and plans for the part of the route though the City subsequently abandoned, in Roman times, the Fleet was a major river, with its estuary possibly containing the oldest tidal mill in the world. In Anglo-Saxon times, the Fleet was still a body of water. Many wells were built along its banks, and some on springs and St Brides Well, were reputed to have healing qualities, the small lane at the south-west end of New Bridge Street is called Watergate because it was the river entrance to Bridewell Palace. By the 13th century, it was considered polluted, and the area characterised by poor-quality housing, the flow of the river was reduced greatly by increasing industry. As London grew, the river became increasingly a sewer, following the Great Fire of London in 1666, Christopher Wrens proposal for widening the river was rejected. Rather, the Fleet was converted into the New Canal, completed in 1680 under the supervision of Robert Hooke, newcastle Close and Old Seacoal Lane recall the wharves that used to line this canal, especially used by the coastal coal trade from the North East of England. The upper canal, unpopular and unused, was from 1737 enclosed between Holborn and Ludgate Circus to form the Fleet Market. The lower part, the section from Ludgate Circus to the Thames, had been covered by 1769 for the opening of the new Blackfriars Bridge and was consequently named New Bridge Street. The development of the Regents Canal and urban growth covered the river in Kings Cross and Camden from 1812. The Fleet, or rather the sewer that now follows its route, can be heard through a grating in Ray Street, Clerkenwell in front of the Coach and Horses pub, just off Farringdon Road
8.
Fleet Street
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Fleet Street is a major street in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall, having been an important through route since Roman times, businesses were established along the road during the Middle Ages. Senior clergy lived in Fleet Street during this period there are several churches including Temple Church. Much of the industry moved out in the 1980s after News International set up cheaper manufacturing premises in Wapping, the term Fleet Street remains a metonym for the British national press, and pubs on the street once frequented by journalists remain popular. The street is mentioned in works by Charles Dickens and is where the legendary fictitious murderous barber Sweeney Todd lived. Fleet Street is named after the River Fleet, which runs from Hampstead to the River Thames at the edge of the City of London. It is one of the oldest roads outside the city and was established by the Middle Ages. In the 13th century, it was known as Fleet Bridge Street, the street runs east from Temple Bar, the boundary between the Cities of London and Westminster, as a continuation of the Strand from Trafalgar Square. It crosses Chancery Lane and Fetter Lane to reach Ludgate Circus by the London Wall, the road ahead is Ludgate Hill. The street numbering runs consecutively from west to east south-side and then east to west north-side and it links the Roman and medieval boundaries of the City after the latter was extended. The nearest London Underground stations are Temple, Chancery Lane, and Blackfriars tube/mainline station, London Bus routes 4,11,15,23,26,76 and 172 run along the full length of Fleet Street, while route 341 runs between Temple Bar and Fetter Lane. Fleet Street was established as a thoroughfare in Roman London and there is evidence that a route led west from Ludgate by 200 AD. Local excavations revealed remains of a Roman amphitheatre near Ludgate on what was Fleet Prison, the Saxons did not occupy the Roman city but established Lundenwic further west around what is now Aldwych and the Strand. Many prelates lived around the street during the Middle Ages, including the Bishops of Salisbury and St Davids, tanning of animal hides became established on Fleet Street owing to the nearby river, though this increased pollution leading to a ban on dumping rubbish by the mid-14th century. Many taverns and brothels were established along Fleet Street and have been documented as early as the 14th century, records show that Geoffrey Chaucer was fined two shillings for attacking a friar in Fleet Street, though modern historians believe this is apocryphal. An important landmark in Fleet Street during the late Middle Ages was a conduit that was the water supply for the area. When Anne Boleyn was crowned Queen following her marriage to Henry VIII in 1533, by the 16th century, Fleet Street, along with much of the City, was chronically overcrowded, and a Royal proclamation in 1580 banned any further building on the street. This had little effect, and construction continued, particularly timber, Prince Henrys Room over the Inner Temple gate dates from 1610 and is named after Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son of James I, who did not survive to succeed his father
9.
River Brent
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The River Brent is a river in west and northwest London, England, and a tributary of the River Thames. 17.9 miles in length, it rises in the Borough of Barnet, at this time the river system headwaters lay in the English West Midlands and may, at times, have received drainage from the North Wales Berwyn Mountains. Progressively in this Ice Age, the channel was pushed south to form a lake, now the St Albans depression. Here it entered a substantial freshwater lake in the southern North Sea basin, a torrent produced by the rupture of this lake was a major cause of the formation of the Dover Straits or Pas-de-Calais gap between Britain and France. Subsequent development led to the continuation of the course which the river follows at the present day, the last advance from that Scandinavian ice flow to have reached this far south covered much of north west Greater London and finally forced the proto-Thames to take roughly its present course. At the height of the last ice age, around 10,000 BCE and this forced flow southwards from the eastern Essex coast where it met the Rhine, the Meuse and the Scheldt flowing from what are now the Netherlands and Belgium. These rivers formed a single river—the Channel River that passed through the Dover Strait, the ice sheet which stopped near Finchley deposited Boulder clay to form Dollis Hill and Hanger Hill. Its torrent of meltwater gushed through the Finchley Gap and south towards the new course of the Thames, upon the valley sides there can be seen other terraces of Brickearth, laid over and sometimes interlayered with the clays. These deposits were brought in by the winds during the periods, suggesting that wide flat marshes were then part of the landscape. The original land surface was some 350 to 350 to 400 ft above the current sea level, the surface had sandy deposits from an ancient sea, laid over sedimentary clay. All the erosion down from this higher land surface and sorting action by these changes of flow and direction. Thus, along much of the Brents present day one can make out the water meadows of rich alluvium. Likewise, later evidence of occupation, even since the arrival of the Romans, the most prominent pre-Roman settlement on the River Brent was apparently at Brentford. This Bronze Age site pre-dates the Roman occupation of Britain, many pre-Roman artifacts have been excavated in and around the area in Brentford known as Old England. The quality and quantity of the artefacts suggests that Brentford was a point for pre-Romanic tribes. However, can the river Brent be considered a border in the sense that the quality it possessed of dividing the land was notable enough to be such a descriptive title. The Brent river valley in AD705 would have looked different to today. Before modern day dredging, the river was wider and shallower, before the construction of its weirs, the Brent reservoir and Grand Union Canal the river would have flooded more frequently than it does today
10.
River Rom
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The Rom is culverted for a brief midsection as it passes through the centre of Romford. The Beam Valley comprises 182 acres of land running the entire stretch of the river, the valley also includes various historical features including tank traps, pillboxes and a section of the old Romford Canal. Rom is a back-formation from the name of the town of Romford, the name Romford is first recorded in 1177 as Romfort, which is formed from rūm and ford and means the wide or spacious ford. A more recent name for part of the river of the Beam originated from a bridge over the river. Surrounding farmland has lapwing and Eurasian golden plover in winter, apart from the river environs, the Site of Importance for Nature Conservation also includes Foreberry Wood through which the river runs. This contains both pedunculate oak and hornbeam coppices, also in the upper parts of the river is another Site of Importance for Nature Conservation where the river flows through King George Playing Fields in Romford. Beam Valley Further downstream, the Beam Valley is a mixture of woodlands, acid grassland, ponds and marsh areas, the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham and of Havering plan to develop the area to improve the conservation interest and to create new opportunities for recreation and education. The River Beam is home to the water vole, while the grassland in the valley includes certain rare. Tributaries of the River Thames List of rivers in England Notes References
11.
Deptford Wharf
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Deptford Wharf in London, UK is situated on the Thames Path south-east of South Dock Marina, across the culverted mouth of the Earls Sluice and north of Aragon Tower. The housing here, completed in 1992, is on the site of railway sidings and riverside wharves. The dock built was by John Winter in 1704 and belonged to the Evelyn family, described in 1726 as having a great depth of water, and as being the best private dock upon the river. To complete some contracts he went into partnership with Henry Adams of Bucklers Hard, when William died in 1772 his son John Dudman took over. From about 1808 the yard is shown as Dudman & Son, by 1814 the yard had five building slips and two double dry docks. Between 1783 and 1812 they built 23 war ships and 2 East Indiamen, from about 1825 Gordon & Co ship builders ran the yard. Then in 1838 it was owned by A. Gordon, by 1807 the wet dock was in use for convict transports by ship to Australia. This is not a complete list of the ships built at Dudmans yard, jacomb-Hood instructed his recently appointed assistant Frederick Banister to design, survey and manage construction of the branchline and dock, which was completed in 1849
12.
River Neckinger
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The River Neckinger is a subterranean river that rises in Southwark and flows through London to St Saviours Dock where it enters the River Thames. The river is now enclosed and runs underground. The river rises in what was formerly the marshy ground of St Georges Fields, now Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park and it follows the present day Brook Drive, passes by near to the Elephant and Castle, then heads east towards the site of Lock Hospital. This upper section of the river was known as Lock Stream and it continues through the former grounds of Bermondsey Abbey, today marked by Abbey Street, before meeting the Thames at St Saviours Dock. The Neckinger divides the Thames riverside districts of Shad Thames to the west, in the 17th century convicted pirates were hanged at the wharf where the Neckinger entered the Thames. The name of the river is believed to derive from the term devils neckcloth, in London Past and Present, published in 1891, Henry B. Wheatley argued that there was good evidence that the Devils Neckinger. The ancient place of punishment and execution was at the site of the Dead Tree public-house on Jacobs Island, historian Walter Besant states the Neckingers early section, where it crosses the Kent Road, at Lock Bridge, was also known as Canutes Trench. In May,1016, Danish Cnut the Great, who had invaded England, in 1173, a channel following a similar course was used to drain the Thames to allowing building work on London Bridge. In the Tudor period St. Thomas-à-Watering was also the location for public executions, during the Middle Ages, the local religious house, Bermondsey Abbey, made use of the water of the Neckinger to power a Tide mill. At this time the Neckinger was navigable from the Thames up to the Abbey grounds and it was of a pointed arch of stone with six ribs, similar to the oldest part of the London Bridge and to those of Bow and Eltham. There are, however, no mouldings to the bridge, it was merely chamfered at the edges and its date may be about the middle of the fifteenth century. The dimensions of the bridge are, width,20 feet, in 1640, the City of London issued an order to make up and amend the Lock Bridge as part of sewer works. According to Rendle the sewers were built up to adjoin the bridge at each side, during the 19th century improvements the ancient relic was not injured by the new works but necessarily covered up again. Private homes and businesses began to be built on the former Abbey grounds, the Jacobs Island district was notoriously squalid from early Victorian times. In Dickens novel, Oliver Twist a branch of the Neckinger is given the name Folly Ditch and is the place where the books Bill Sikes meets his death. In the 1790s Neckinger Mill was established to produce paper, which continued until 1805 when the site was sold to the leather manufacturers Bevingtons. In 1838, the construction of a new line for the London, in 1935, Bevingtons moved most of their business to Dartford, keeping the smaller section of their divided site as a warehouse, and selling the larger portion to the Bermondsey Borough Council
