River Avon (Severn, Bristol)
| River Avon | ||
 The Avon at Pulteney Bridge in Bath |
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| Data | ||
| location | south west England | |
| River system | Severn | |
| Drain over | Severn → Bristol Channel | |
| source | at Old Sodbury east of Chipping Sodbury 51 ° 31 ′ 16 ″ N , 2 ° 21 ′ 9 ″ W |
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| muzzle | in the Bristol suburb of Avonmouth in the Severn Estuary Coordinates: 51 ° 30 '11 " N , 2 ° 43' 4" W 51 ° 30 '11 " N , 2 ° 43' 4" W
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| length | 121 km | |
 Bristol Floating Harbor with the Bristol Bridge |
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The River Avon [ ˈeɪvən ] is a 121 km long river in south west England . The lower section of the river is navigable and is therefore called Avon Navigation . Because there are several rivers in England named Avon, the river is often referred to as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon .
The Avon has its source near Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire . It then runs first eastwards, later southwards through the county of Wiltshire . Then the river turns in a north-westerly direction and flows through Bradford-on-Avon , Bath and Bristol and flows into the estuary of the Severn at Avonmouth near Bristol. Over large parts of the River Avon forms the border between the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire.
In central Bristol, the River Avon is dependent on the tides and is diverted from its original river bed into a canal called the New Cut , which was built between 1804 and 1809. In the original river bed, the water level is kept at a constant level by sluice gates (built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel ). This area forms the harbor of Bristol and is called the Floating Harbor . The constant water level prevents the ships lying in the harbor from having to dry out at low tide . Downstream to Bristol, the Avon cuts through the Avon Gorge, which is spanned by the Brunel- built Clifton Suspension Bridge .
The Avon is continuously navigable from its mouth at Avonmouth to Pulteney Bridge in central Bath. Shortly before the weir at the bridge, the Kennet and Avon Canal branches off from the river. Together with the Kennet Navigation Canal and the Thames , there is a continuous route for canal boats, the so-called narrowboats , from Bristol to London .
From Avonmouth to Bristol through the Avon Gorge, the river is dependent on the tide and is only passable for seagoing ships at high tide . This ultimately led to the fact that the port facilities of Bristol are no longer used today; new ones were built in Avonmouth.
Surname
Avon is a Welsh word meaning "river". There are therefore other rivers that bear the name Avon, see Avon .
The Avon Gorge with the Clifton Suspension Bridge
View of the suspension bridge
_Bridge.jpg)
literature
- Dudley Matthews: The River Avon - Navigation Guide and Visitor Guide. Avon Navigation Trust 2009, ISBN 978-0956228901
