River Tay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| River Tay | |
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| Origin | Loch Tay |
| Mouth | Firth of Tay |
| Basin countries | Scotland |
| Length | 120 miles (193 km) |
| Avg. discharge | 170 m³/s |
| Basin area | 4970 km² |
The River Tay is a river in the southern Highlands of Scotland. It is the 7th longest river in Britain and the longest in Scotland. The Tay is the largest river in the UK. The Tay catchment is approximately 2000 square miles (the Tweed is 1500 square miles, and the Spey 1097 square miles).
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[edit] Course
The Tay drains much of the southern Highlands, its source being high on the slopes of Ben Lui. The source is only c. 20 miles (c. 32 km) from the west coast town of Oban, in Argyll and Bute. The waters flow through Perth and Kinross to the Firth of Tay and the North Sea, some 100 miles (160 km) to the east.
The river has a variety of names in the upper catchment: for the first few miles the river is known as the River Connonish; then it is called the River Fillan, and then the name changes again to the River Dochart until it flows into Loch Tay at Killin.
The River Tay emerges from Loch Tay at Kenmore, and flows from there to Perth which, in historical times, was the lowest bridging point of the river. Below Perth the river becomes tidal and enters the Firth of Tay. The largest city on the river, Dundee, lies on the north band of the Firth.
The main tributaries of the River Tay are the Rivers Almond, Isla, Braan, Tummel and Lyon.
Like the River Spey, River Dee and River Tweed, the River Tay is a famous salmon river.
[edit] History
The maximum recorded flow of 2269 m3/s was recorded on January 17 1993, when the river rose 6.48 metres above its usual level at Perth, and caused extensive flooding in the city. Were it not for the hydro-electric schemes upstream which impounded run-off, the peak would have been considerably higher. The highest ever flood at Perth occurred in 1814, when the river rose 7 m above the usual level, partly caused by a blockage of ice under the Smeaton Bridge. Other severe flood events occurred in 1210 and 1648 when earlier bridges over the Tay at Perth were destroyed.
In the 19th Century the Tay Rail Bridge was built across the Firth at Dundee as part of the East Coast Main Line, which linked Aberdeen in the north with Edinburgh and, eventually, London to the south. On December 28th 1879 the bridge collapsed as a train passed over it. The entire train fell into the Firth, with the loss of 75 passengers and traincrew. The event was 'immortalised' in a poem, The Tay Bridge Disaster, written by William McGonagall. McGonagall, who lived in Dundee for much of his life, is famous for being one of the worst poets in the English Language.
The rail bridge across the Firth was subsequently rebuilt, and in the 1960s a road bridge was built nearby.
Several places along the Tay take their names from it, or are believed to have done so:
- Dundee - Dun Deagh, Fort on the Tay
- Broughty Ferry, known locally as Brochtie - Bruach Tatha, Bank of the Tay
- Taymouth - Near the mouth of Loch Tay.
- Tayside - A former Scottish Government region
