River Mersey
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River Mersey | |
River | |
The River Mersey at Liverpool, looking towards the Royal Liver Building
| |
Kintra | Ingland |
---|---|
Counties | Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside |
Ceety | Liverpool, Manchester |
Primar soorce | (source of the River Tame) |
- location | west of Buckstones Moss, West Yorkshire |
- elevation | 473 m (1,552 ft) |
- coordinates | 53°37′07″N 2°00′13″W / 53.6187°N 2.0035°W |
Seicontar soorce | (confluence of Tame and Goyt) |
- location | Stockport, Greater Manchester |
- elevation | 40 m (131 ft) |
- coordinates | 53°24′51″N 2°09′23″W / 53.4143°N 2.1565°W |
Mooth | |
- location | Liverpool Bay |
Lenth | 112 km (70 mi) |
Basin | 4,680 km2 (1,807 sq mi) |
Designation | |
Offeecial name | Mersey Estuary |
Designatit | 20 December 1995 |
The River Mersey is highlighted in red
Click to enlarge map Coordinates: 53°27′00″N 3°01′59″W / 53.45°N 3.033°W |
The River Mersey is a river in North Wast Ingland. Its name is derived frae the Auld Inglis leid an translates as "boundary river". The river mey hae been the mairch atween the auncient kinricks o Mercia an Northumbria an for centuries it formed pairt o the boundary atween the historic counties o Lancashire an Cheshire.[1]
The stairt o the Mersey is at the confluence o the River Tame an River Goyt in Stockport. It flows westwards throu the suburban auries o sooth Manchester, then intae the Manchester Ship Canal at Irlam, acomin a pairt o the canal an maintaining the canal's watter levels. Efter 4 mile (6.4 km) the river exits the canal, flowing towards Warrington whaur the river widens. It then narrows as it passes atween the towns o Runcorn an Widnes. Frae Runcorn the river widens intae a lairge estuary, which is 3 mile (4.8 km) across at its widest pynt near Ellesmere Port. The course o the river then turns north as the estuary narrows atween Liverpuil an Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula tae the wast, an empties intae Liverpuil Bay. In tot the river flows 70.33 mile (113 km).
A railwey tunnel atween Birkenhead an Liverpuil as pairt o the Mersey Railway opened in 1886. Twa road tunnels pass unner the estuary frae Liverpuil: the Queensway Tunnel opened in 1934 connecting the ceety tae Birkenhead, an the Kingsway Tunnel, opened in 1971, tae Wallasey. A road brig, completit in 1961 an later named the Siller Jubilee Brig, crosses atween Runcorn an Widnes, adjacent tae the Runcorn Railway Brig which opened in 1868. A seicont road brig, the Mersey Gateway, opened in October 2017, carrying a sax-lane road connecting Runcorn's Central Expressway wi Speke Road an Queensway in Widnes.[2] The Mersey Ferry operates atween Pier Heid in Liverpuil an Woodside in Birkenhead an Seacombe, an haes acome a tourist attraction offerin cruises that provide an overview o the river an surroondin auries.
Watter quality in the Mersey wis severely affected bi industrialisation, an in 1985, the Mersey Basin Campaign wis established tae improve watter quality an encourage waterside regeneration. In 2009 it wis annoonced that the river is "cleaner than at any time since the industrial revolution" an is "now considered one of the cleanest in the UK". The Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service manages local naitur reserves sic as Chorlton Een an Sale Watter Pairk. The river gae its name tae Merseybeat, developed bi bands frae Liverpuil, notably the Beatles. In 1965 it wis the subject o the tap-ten hit single "Ferry Cross the Mersey" bi Gerry an the Pacemakers.
References[eedit | eedit soorce]
- ↑ Mills, A D (1998). A dictionary of English place-names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 240. ISBN 0-19-280074-4.
- ↑ "Mersey Gateway Bridge is now open | The Mersey Gateway Project". www.merseygateway.co.uk (in Inglis). Archived frae the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.