River Tees
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The Tees is an English river that rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the Pennine Chain and flows eastwards for about 87 miles (137 km) to the North Sea, between Hartlepool and Redcar. [link]
In the earliest part of its course it forms the boundary between the traditional counties of Westmorland and Durham. The head of the valley, of which the upper portion is known as Teesdale, has a desolate grandeur; the hills, exceeding 2500 feet (760 m) in height at some points, consist of bleak moorland.
A succession of falls or rapids, where the river traverses a hard series of black basaltic rocks, is called "Cauldron Snout". From a point immediately below this to its mouth the Tees forms the boundary between the traditional counties of Durham and Yorkshire almost without a break, although since 1974 much of it lies wholly in Durham. The dale becomes bolder below Cauldron Snout, and trees appear, contrasting with the broken rocks where the water dashes over High Force, the highest waterfall in England and one of the finest.
The scenery becomes gentler but more picturesque as it descends past Middleton-in-Teesdale (Durham). This locality has lead and ironstone resources. The ancient town of Barnard Castle, Eggleston Abbey, and Rokeby Hall, well known through Sir Walter Scott's poem, are passed; and then the valley begins to open out, and it traverses the rich plain east and south of Darlington in sweeping curves.
The course of the valley until here has been generally east-southeast, but it now turns northeast and, nearing the sea, becomes an important commercial waterway, having on its banks the ports of Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough. For its last five miles, below Middlesbrough, it is estuarine.
Teesport is the busiest port in the country, shipping over a million tonnes of cargo per year.
It drains an area of 708 square miles (1834 square km), and subsumes no important tributaries.
It was featured on the television programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the North.
Origin of river-name
Tees derives from Celtic *tes 'heat', referring to a warm river. This refers to the coast by Hartlepool and Redcar.See also
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