River Tees Essay Example
Describe and explain the changes that take place in the land use of the River Tees drainage basin
The River Tees is located in North East England. Its source can be found in the moorland area of Cumbria, in the Pennine Hills which receives an average annual rainfall of 1200mm. The source is about 750m high up into the Pennines. The river’s mouth can be found in Teesbay, where it enters the North Sea. The source soon turns into a gentle stream, where the land is mainly used for sheep farming. The drainage basin covers about 700 square miles. In the middle course of the Tees it meanders its way along the countryside, the river deepens and widens as the river progresses towards the mouth. By the time it eventually reaches the mouth, the main land use is industrial.
The river Tees starts in the boggy moorlands in Cumbria. These bogs never dry out, and are subject to completely unpredictable weather, for example in March it snowed up on the moorlands and the source was completely covered by snow and ice. In the upper course of the river, there is not much discharge, but high velocity, and the main loads in the river are the suspended load, which is where particles are chemically dissolved in the water, suspended load, where the particles are suspended in the water, and the bedload, which is the rocks. There are lots of reservoirs in the upper course of the river, this is so that water can be provided to industrial cities to the east, for example Cow Green reservoir, which is actually located on the river Tees itself. The upper course of a river is a very good place for a reservoir as the valleys are narrow and steep sided they make excellent locations. Rainfall levels are high, evaporation rates are low and few people are affected by the building of the reservoir, this makes it the perfect place for a reservoir! Only five kilometres away from the source, there is nothing sharp left in the bedload. This is due to the high velocity of the water, causing attrition.
The River Tees is located in North East England. Its source can be found in the moorland area of Cumbria, in the Pennine Hills which receives an average annual rainfall of 1200mm. The source is about 750m high up into the Pennines. The river’s mouth can be found in Teesbay, where it enters the North Sea. The source soon turns into a gentle stream, where the land is mainly used for sheep farming. The drainage basin covers about 700 square miles. In the middle course of the Tees it meanders its way along the countryside, the river deepens and widens as the river progresses towards the mouth. By the time it eventually reaches the mouth, the main land use is industrial.
The river Tees starts in the boggy moorlands in Cumbria. These bogs never dry out, and are subject to completely unpredictable weather, for example in March it snowed up on the moorlands and the source was completely covered by snow and ice. In the upper course of the river, there is not much discharge, but high velocity, and the main loads in the river are the suspended load, which is where particles are chemically dissolved in the water, suspended load, where the particles are suspended in the water, and the bedload, which is the rocks. There are lots of reservoirs in the upper course of the river, this is so that water can be provided to industrial cities to the east, for example Cow Green reservoir, which is actually located on the river Tees itself. The upper course of a river is a very good place for a reservoir as the valleys are narrow and steep sided they make excellent locations. Rainfall levels are high, evaporation rates are low and few people are affected by the building of the reservoir, this makes it the perfect place for a reservoir! Only five kilometres away from the source, there is nothing sharp left in the bedload. This is due to the high velocity of the water, causing attrition.