river Tees

• location:

  • source is 900m above sea level, the highest point in Pennine Moorland at Cross fell
  • it has a tidal estuary east of Middlesborough going into the North Sea
• upper course:

  • High Force Waterfall
  • The Uks largest waterfall, 21m high
  • made of limestone and whinestone
  • 700m gorge
• formation of High Force:

  • limestone erodes quickly = undercut
  • creating an overhang of whinestone
  • abrasion and hydraulic action = plunge pool
  • eventually the overhand collapses due to lack of support
  • waterfall retreats
• middle course:

  • meanders and oxbow lake
  • at Sockburn, near darlington
• formation of a meander and oxbow lake:

  • erosion makes the neck narrow
  • creating a shorter route so the water flow through the neck creating erosion
  • forming a straight river course leaving a cut off = horse shoe oxbow lake
• lower course:

  • River tees estuary
  • has mudflats and sandbanks supporting wildlife
  • meets the North Sea
• 
  

  human activity:

  • High force waterfall = tourist attraction so has walking paths and hotels
  • teesport = 3rd largest port in the UK, in the top 10 for western Europe , transporting 56 million tonnes of cargo a year, and has been in business since the industrial revolution when trading coal and steel
• management:

  • dredging
  • river straightening
  • tees barrage
  • cow green reservoir
  • yarm flood defence scheme
• dredging :

  lower stretches of tees estuary,

  improved navigation by maintaining deep water channel

  upper parts,

  increases capacity = reduced flood risk
• river straightening:

  • allows water to move faster along the channel = higher discharge
  • less energy is lost at river banks = reduced flood risk
  • 1810, tees navigation company cut across the neck of the mandate loop, near Stockton, shortening the route by 4km
• Cow green reservoir:

  • built in 1970 to provide water for growing industries, storing water and releasing in times of need
  • Cost 2 million
  • 1 of the 9 reservoirs along the tees
• Tees Barrage:

  • aim to improve water quality, by keeping water at a permanent high tide to ensure it doesn't mix with salty tidal water in estuary
  • and to improve the recreational value of 22km of the lower tees
  • built in 1950 ad cost 54 million
  • acted as a catalyst for £500 million investment within offices, houses and leisure
• Yarm flood defence scheme:

  • cost £2.1 million and built in 1955
  • reinforced concrete walls with 30 metal floodgates and earth embankments with gabions to protect from erosion
  • this improved flooding warning systems
  • and discouraged buying or building on low-lying land = reduced rehousing costs
• formation:

  High Force waterfall is formed in the upper course of

  the River Tees, where a layer of hard rock (Whinstone)

  overlies soft rock (Carboniferous Limestone). The force

  of the falling water (hydraulic action) has eroded the

  softer rock to form a plunge pool and helped to wear

  away the backwall forming an overhang. Eventually the

  overhang will become too heavy and will fall into the

  plunge pool causing the waterfall to erode towards the

  source.