Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
The drainage pattern of the Area is complicated, and not immediately obvious to
the casual traveller because of the gentleness of the slopes and the open nature of the
landscape (Fig. 267). In the extreme southwest corner of the Area, southwest of Mar-
ket Harborough, small streams drain westwards to eventually join the Avon and Severn
and flow into the Bristol Channel. Ground elevations here are only 170 m above sea
level - remarkably low for one of the main drainage divides in the whole of Southern
England.
Further north, the River Trent, one of the main rivers of central England, drains
the hilly northwestern corner of Area 15. Considerably to the west of this Area, the
Trent flows southeasterly through Stoke-on-Trent in the Potteries, then past the Burton-
on-Trent breweries before passing the Trent Bridge cricket ground in Nottingham,
just beyond the western boundary of this Area. Further downstream, to the north of
Area 15, the Trent runs through Newark-on-Trent (90.5 m
3
/s mean flow) before join-
ing the Humber estuary some 70 km north of this Area. In the west of this Area, the
Melton Mowbray hills drain westwards, ultimately into the Trent, via the Rivers Eye
and Wreake.
FIG
266.
Natural and man-made features of Area 15.
FIG
267.
River pathways and coastal flooding zone in Area 15.
All of the other rivers in this Area drain into the Wash via the Fenland, where they
have been considerably rearranged by centuries of engineering work. From southeast
to northwest, the main rivers are the Great Ouse (10.9 m
3
/s), Nene (9.3 m
3
/s) and Wel-
land (3.9 m
3
/s), where the mean flows have been measured at the stations marked on
Figure 267.
