The River Dee
By Max Reidy
The Source
The Source is the beginning
of the river and usually
starts up in the hills. It is
where the river starts its
journey to the sea.
The source of the River Dee
is on the slopes of Ddualt
Mountain, south of Bala
Lake.
Waterfalls
A waterfall happens where a
river or stream flows over a
vertical drop.
The only waterfalls of any size on the Dee
or its tributaries are on the River Ceiriog,
not far from its source.
The Horseshoe Falls, an artificial
waterfall on the Dee near Llangollen.
Rapids
River rapids feature fastflowing water in a steeper
section of the river.
'Whitewater', filled with air
bubbles, is often seen swirling
around rocks in the shallow
water within rapids.
These rapids are on the River Dee
near Llangollen in Wales.
The best known parts of the rapids
are The Serpent's Tail and the
Town Falls.
Meanders
A Meander is a little bend in
the river, and as more
water gets into it, it will
bend more and more, and
start to wash away some
of the land.
These are meanders on the River
Dee south of Chester.
Flood Plain
A flood plain is the area of
land next to a river that
can flood after heavy rain.
These photos show
flooding on the River Dee
at Farndon, south of
Chester
Tributaries
Tributaries are when a small
river flows in to a larger
one.
This tributary is the River
Alyn, which rises at the
southern end of the
Clwydian hills, flows
north, then turns back
south east and meets the
Dee near Holt.
Caves
The River Alyn, a major
tributary of the Dee, flows over
an area of limestone rock near
Mold. Limestone can be
dissolved by rainwater, which
creates caves underground! The
re are three cave systems near
and beneath the River Alyn,
close to Loggerheads Country
Park.
Towns on the River Dee
• The city of Chester was
founded by the Romans
as a fortress in the 70s
AD.
• It was named Deva
Victrix, after the goddess
of the River Dee.
The Mouth
The mouth of a river is where it meets
a large body of water (e.g. the
sea, a lake).
The mouth of the River Dee is at
the southern end of the Dee
Estuary.
The River Dee was once much wider to the west
of Chester, and quite large ships were able to sail
right up to the city walls in Roman times.
Over the centuries, however, the Dee Estuary filled
up with mud and silt, and larger ships could no
longer reach the city.
The newer port of Liverpool soon became much
more important than Chester, because much
larger ships could sail up the River Mersey.
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed
area of water at the coast, with
one or more rivers flowing into
The River Dee flows into the estuary and
out to sea into Liverpool Bay.
The estuary contains large areas of sand
and salt marsh. It is very important for
wildlife, especially wading birds and
wildfowl - it is one of the top ten estuaries
in Europe for birds, and the most important
wetland site in Wales. Much of it is a
protected nature reserve, and many
birdwatchers visit the area.