River Witham
Witham lower reaches: The Haven |
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The High Street Bridge over the Witham in Lincoln |
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Data | ||
location | Lincolnshire , England | |
River system | Witham | |
River basin district | Anglian | |
source | near South Witham south of Grantham 52 ° 45 ′ 40 " N , 0 ° 41 ′ 32" W |
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Source height | approx. 133 m ASL | |
muzzle | as The Haven in The Wash Coordinates: 52 ° 55 ′ 58 " N , 0 ° 4 ′ 43" E 52 ° 55 ′ 58 " N , 0 ° 4 ′ 43" E |
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Mouth height | 0 m ASL | |
Height difference | approx. 133 m | |
Bottom slope | approx. 1 ‰ | |
length | 132 km | |
Medium-sized cities | Lincoln , Boston | |
Communities | South Witham |
The Witham is a 132 km long river that runs almost exclusively in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England .
course
It rises near South Witham in the nature reserve Cribbs Meadow in the English county of Leicestershire at an altitude of about 133 m.
It flows through South Witham , North Witham and Grantham . At Waddington the Brant flows into the right tributary.
In Lincoln , the water is taken from various drainage channels. The Foss Dyke canal to the Trent, a tributary of the Humber , also ends here . This is also where a navigable canal begins parallel to the Witham, which, after being straightened, flows into Bardney .
In Boston , the South Forty Foot Drain joins the Witham. From there the body of water is called The Haven , which flows into the tidal basin The Wash after a few kilometers . Shortly beforehand, the water from the Hobhole Drain is taken up. The river is navigable from Lincoln to Boston and then beyond the Haven to the North Sea .
The Witham, Welland , Nene and Ouse rivers form a floodplain that extends around the bay " The Wash ". It is a moorland in eastern England, which is called the Fens (English: "The Fens" = the swamps).
history
- The Witham Shield , which was found in the river near the village of Washingborough in 1826 and is now in the British Museum , testifies to the Iron Age settlement of the region .
- The Witham and Trent rivers at Torksey are connected by the 18 km long Foss Dyke , also known as Fossedyke . It was built by the Romans in what is now Lincolnshire in AD 120 and is the oldest navigable canal in England .
- The Witham and Trent rivers formed the borders of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Lindsey or Linnuis in the early medieval heptarchy . It was between the River Humber and the tidal basin The Wash on the east coast of England .
Web links
- Environment Agency: Current water levels in the Witham river system