River Derwent, Derbyshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| River Derwent | |
| River | |
 The River Derwent, just south of Duffield
|
|
| Country |  England |
|---|---|
| Counties | Derbyshire |
| Tributaries | |
| - right | River Westend, River Ashop, River Noe, River Wye |
| Source | |
| - location | Bleaklow east of Glossop |
| Mouth | |
| - location | confluence with River Trent |
| - coordinates | 52°52′26″N 1°19′13″W / 52.8738°N 1.3203°W |
| Length | 80 km (50 mi) |
The Derwent is a river in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is 50 miles (80 km) long and is a tributary of the River Trent which it joins south of Derby. The name "Derwent" is Celtic and means "a valley thick with oaks". [1]
Contents |
[edit] Course
The River Derwent rises in the Peak District at Bleaklow just east of Glossop and flows through the Upper Derwent Valley with its three reservoirs, the Howden Reservoir, Derwent Reservoir and Ladybower Reservoir. It then passes through Bamford, Hathersage, Grindleford and Baslow, and through the Chatsworth Park estate, and it is joined by the River Wye. After passing through Darley Dale, the Derwent reaches Matlock, where, at an oxbow, it collects the great millstream Bentley Brook, before flowing past Cromford, with its historic Arkwright mills, and through the Crich Chase Nature Reserve. The River Derwent supplies Carsington Reservoir indirectly, with the water pumped from the river at Ambergate Pumping Station in times of high flow, and then released when flows are low via the same 6.5 mile (10.5km) of tunnels and aqueducts built by Severn Trent Water. This allows greater abstraction rates upstream in the drier summer months.[2] The river ends at Derwent Mouth, 1-mile (1.6 km) east of Shardlow, where it flows into the River Trent. The minor tributaries are these: Overdale Brook, Dunge Brook, High Brook, Stoke Brook, Rymas Brook.
[edit] Natural history and uses
The River Derwent is the habitat for many different animals such as otters, birds, insects and fish and crabs.
The river was used to power many cotton mills in the Derwent Valley Mills areas around Matlock Bath, Cromford, Belper, Milford, Darley Abbey and Derby.
The River Derwent provides the name for the oldest hockey club in Derbyshire. Derwent Hockey Club was established in 1897 and played its matches on the banks of the Derwent in Darley Dale, before relocating to Wirksworth. It is also widely used by kayakers and canoeists who enjoy the fast flowing water and the slalom course at Matlock Bath.
[edit] See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: River Derwent, Derbyshire |
[edit] References
- ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1936, 1960), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names (Fourth ed.), Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 143, ISBN 0-19-869103-3
- ^ http://www.moretoexperience.co.uk/server.php?show=nav.6019
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||
 This Derbyshire location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
