River valley
| River valley | ||
 Catchment area |
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| Data | ||
| location | Devon , England , UK | |
| River system | River Otter | |
| Drain over | River Otter → English Channel | |
| River basin district | South west | |
| source | at Broadhembury
|
|
| length | 14.2 km | |
| Catchment area | 34.4 km² (above the level) | |
 River Tale at Cadhay |
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The River Tale is a small river that drains the southern slopes of the Blackdown Hills in Devon , England. It is a tributary of the River Otter and has a length of 14.2 km. The name is derived from the Old English word geteal , which means "quick, lively, swift"; however, the water is described as "clumsy". One theory has it that the name is transferred from Tala Water, a tributary of the nearby River Tamar . The river is the subject of attempts to reintroduce the Eastern water vole , which is suspected to be extinct in Devon .
Run
The river has its source on the south side of the Blackdown Hills, below North Hill and flows southwest through the village of Broadhembury and under the A373 . It turns south and runs along the bottom of Escot House before flowing through Fairmile and being crossed by the A30 . Eventually the water flows into the River Otter at Cadhay near Ottery St Mary .
Hydrology
Since 1978, the river levels and flow rates of the River Tale on the lower reaches near Fairmile have been monitored. The records for the 36 years up to 2014 show that the catchment area above the measuring station covers 34 km 2 and has an average flow of 0.44 m 3 / s. The highest water level was reached in December 1981 at 1.72 m, which corresponds to a flow of 19.56 m 3 / s.
The catchment area above the gauge records an average annual rainfall of 921 mm and has a maximum sea level of 283 m on North Hill. The land is mainly used as arable land and grazing land.
The course of the river is subject to a natural flow regime and is unaffected by direct regulatory influences.
ecology
The River Tale has been classified as of moderate quality under the European Water Framework Directive . This is the middle range of the five-stage water quality scale of these guidelines; this ranges from high to good and moderate to poor and bad. The chemical quality was rated as good in 2014.
Due to a number of factors, including habitat loss and predation by the non-native American mink ( Neovison vison ), Eastern water voles ( Arvicola amphibius ) were believed to be extinct in the Devonian rivers around 2000.
In 2004 the River Tale was selected for the reintroduction of this endangered species because the river corridor had been restored as part of a project to improve the habitat and river water quality. This includes fencing in the course of the river to prevent livestock from damaging the vegetation along the banks and trapping the mink. As a result, the fish population improved and there are indications that otters ( Lutra lutra ) have returned to the home.
See also
supporting documents
- ↑ a b National Rivers Authority - South West Region: River Otter catchment river water quality classification ( English ). National Rivers Authority, 1991, p. 1 (Retrieved February 8, 2016).
- ↑ a b 45013 - Tale at Fairmile Station Information ( English ) In: National Rivers Flow Archive . Center for Ecology & Hydrology. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
- ^ A b Anthony Poulton-Smith: South Devon Place Names ( English ). Amberley Publishing, Stroud 2013, ISBN 978-1-84868-724-0 , p. 147.
- ↑ Building a new 'home' for Ratty ( English ) BBC Devon. September 2004. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
- ↑ a b River Tale ( English ) Environment Agency. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
- ↑ 45013 - Tale at Fairmile Daily Flow Data ( English ) In: National Rivers Flow Archive . Center for Ecology & Hydrology. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
- ↑ 45013 - Tale at Fairmile Peak Flow Data (Annual Maximum) ( English ) In: National Rivers Flow Archive . Center for Ecology & Hydrology. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
- ↑ 45013 - Tale at Fairmile Spatial data ( English ) In: National Rivers Flow Archive . Center for Ecology & Hydrology. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
- ↑ Landfill tax helping water voles (English) . In: BBC News , bbc.co.uk. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
- ↑ A Tale of Water Voles ( English ) Tale Valley Trust. Archived from the original on February 10, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
- ↑ Water voles return to East Devon's River Tale ( English ) escot-devon.co.uk. Archived from the original on February 10, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
Web links
- Latest river level information for: the River Tale at Fairmile. Government UK website.