Severn Estuary

The Severn Estuary (Aber Hafren) is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very high tidal range, approximately , creates valuable intertidal habitats and has led to the area being at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable tidal energy. Definitions of the limits of the Severn Estuary vary. In pre-modern times the area was commonly referred to as the River Severn, or the Severn Sea. Today, at the upstream boundary, the tidal limit of the river is at Gloucester Docks. Downstream, the International Hydrographic Organization places the boundary between the estuary and the open sea of the Bristol Channel at a line between Sand Point, North Somerset (north of Weston-super-Mare) and Lavernock Point (south of Penarth in south Wales). This definition is used by the Severn Estuary Partnership and Visit England. A narrower definition adopted for navigation purposes by some charts includes only the area downstream of the Second Severn Crossing near Severn Beach, South Gloucestershire. The definition used on Admiralty Chart SC1179 and the Bristol Channel and Severn Cruising Guide is that the estuary extends upstream to Aust, the site of the Severn Bridge. On the north-west (Welsh) side, the rivers Wye and Usk flow into the estuary, and on the south-east (English) side, the River Avon joins at Avonmouth. West of the Wye, the estuary forms the boundary between Wales and England. On the northern side of the estuary are the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels which are on either side of the city of Newport; and, to the west, the city of Cardiff together with the resort of Penarth. On the southern, English, side, are Avonmouth, Portishead, Clevedon, and Weston-super-Mare. Denny Island is a small rocky island of , with scrub vegetation, approximately three miles north of Portishead.

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Related concepts (11)

Clevedon

Clevedon (ˈkliːvdən, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 in 2019. It lies along the Severn Estuary, among small hills that include Church Hill, Wain's Hill (topped by the remains of an Iron Age hill fort), Dial Hill, Strawberry Hill, Castle Hill, Hangstone Hill and Court Hill, a Site of Special Scientific Interest with overlaid Pleistocene deposits.

Minehead

Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park. The parish of Minehead has a population of approximately 11,981, making it the most populous town in the western part of the now-defunct Somerset West and Taunton local government district, which in turn, is the worst area in the country for social mobility.

Severn bore

The Severn bore is a tidal bore seen on the tidal reaches of the River Severn in south western England. It is formed when the rising tide moves into the funnel-shaped Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary and the surging water forces its way upstream in a series of waves, as far as Gloucester and beyond. The bore behaves differently in different stretches of the river; in the lower, wider parts it is more noticeable in the deep channels as a slight roller, while the water creeps across the sand and mudflats.