River Severn

• Source: Cambrian mountains, near Plynlimon in West Wales, then flows north of Shrewsbury, through Gloucester into Bristol Channel
• Mouth: Bristol Channel
• 21 tributaries
• 365km river
• -area receives excessive rainfall due to depressions from the Atlantic

  -this transports large load, allowing rapid erosion
• Interlocking spurs : Afon Dulas Valley
• Waterfall : The Severn Breaks Its Neck
• Gorges : Fairy Glen (Conwy river)
• Meanders : Shrewsbury
• Ox-bow lakes : Welshpool
• Levees : Minsterworth (Gloucester)
• Floodplains : Tewkesbury
• Estuary : Bristol Channel
• Upper course features

  • waterfall = The Severn Breaks Its Neck - Hafren forest, hard rock = sandstone, soft rock = mudstone
  • vertical erosion has formed a V-shaped valley
• Middle course features: meanders

  • Shrewsbury (75m above sea level)
  • meander is 35m wide
  • (or near Kempsey in Worcestershire)
  • lateral erosion on outer bends of river
• Lower course:

  • example: The Severn Estuary - mouth of river, where it meets the sea, characterised by extensive deposits of mud
  • tidal range: 15m
  • width: 3.2km
  • mud flats visible at low tide - mud flats and sandbanks support wildlife
  • tidal bore: large waves that travel up the river against the flow
  • levees have formed where river has flooded