The Thames Basin

The Thames basin is the name of the area surrounding the River Thames. Any rain falling on it ends up in the Thames, which takes it to the sea.

The Thames basin covers an area of approximately 12,935 square kilometres (4,994 square miles). 13 million people live in the basin, 7 million of which live in London.

The Thames basin receives an average of 690 mm rainfall per year, making it one of the driest parts of the UK.

Approximately two-thirds of the basin is permeable (allows water to soak through), consisting of chalk, middle Jurassic limestones, and river gravels. The remaining third of the basin consists mainly of low permeability strata, such as clay; here, surface water runs off directly into watercourses (streams and rivers).

The yellow area below shows the Thames's drainage basin
- the area drained by the Thames and its tributaries.

The Thames basin may be divided between the non-tidal and tidal sections:

• The non-tidal section (from the source to Teddington):
  • 9948.18 square kilometres (3841 square miles)
    • More than half the rain that falls in this area is lost to evaporation and plant growth. The remainder provides the water resource that has to be shared between river flows, to support the natural environment, and the community needs for water supplies to homes, industry and agriculture.
• The tidal section
  • About 90 kilometres from the sea, at Teddington, the river begins to exhibit tidal activity from the North Sea.

Did you know?

The Amazon basin is seven hundred times bigger than the Thames basin.

Start of Voyage down the Thames	Contents Page	Introduction
Facts about the Thames	Flooding	Thames Basin
Pollution	Erosion	Tributaries
Industries	Rivers Homework Help pages

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