This is a list of named rivers that flow either wholly or partially within the boundaries of the four
ceremonial counties
The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...
that form
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
. There are twenty five rivers of at least in total. The majority of these waterways lie wholly within the county boundaries, except for; the
Ribble, which flows into the Irish Sea at Lytham; the
Rother Rother may refer to:
General
*Rother (surname) (also sometimes spelled Röther)
*Rother District, a local government district in East Sussex, England
*Rother FM, an independent local radio station for Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England
*Rother Kup ...
, whose source is located in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...
; the
Greta, which flows into
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
to join the
River Lune
The River Lune (archaically sometimes Loyne) is a river in length in Cumbria and Lancashire, England.
Etymology
Several elucidations for the origin of the name ''Lune'' exist. Firstly, it may be that the name is Brittonic in genesis and der ...
; and the
Tees, which flows partly within
County Durham and forms some of the boundary with
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
.
The direction of stream flow in Yorkshire is influenced by the three major drainage divides. The
Pennines in the west and south, the
North York Moors in the north-east and the
Yorkshire Wolds
The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in north-eastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie.
On the western edge, the Wolds rise to an escarpment wh ...
, the coastal range of hills on the east. This represents a large drainage area that mostly flows into the
Vale of York
The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the northeast of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north–south transport corridor for Northern England.
The Vale of York is often supposed to stretch from the R ...
and into the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
via the
Humber estuary. Though an estuary, the Humber is often referred to as a river.
The Humber river system is tidal as far inland as Naburn Lock on the
River Ouse,
Knottingley
Knottingley is a market town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the old A1 road before it was bypassed as the A1(M). Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 13,503, inc ...
on the
River Aire
The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to . Between Malham Tarn and Ai ...
and Askern on the River Don. The
Humber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...
has the second largest tidal range in the UK at . The largest is the
Bristol Channel at nearly double that range.
Source data for the table below came from the National Environment Research Council Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Ordnance Survey, Environment Agency and Google Earth. In the table, total lengths are given in miles (mi) and kilometres (km), and elevations are in feet (ft) and metres (m). River lengths are taken from actual source when wholly within the Yorkshire County boundary, else measured from where the river enters or leaves the county.
Images
File:The River Esk Whitby - geograph.org.uk - 699328.jpg, The River Esk at Whitby
File:The River Aire - geograph.org.uk - 488849.jpg, The River Aire and the Leeds-Liverpool canal in Leeds
File:RiverSheafJoinsDonAtSheffield038.jpg, River Sheaf joins River Don at Sheffield
File:Tidal Barrier, River Hull, Kingston upon Hull - geograph.org.uk - 660413.jpg, Tidal Barrier on the River Hull at Kingston upon Hull
File:Infinity Bridge (33308035432).jpg, Infinity Bridge
The Infinity Bridge is a public pedestrian and cycle footbridge across the River Tees in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in northern England.
The bridge is situated one kilometre downriver of Stockton town centre, between the Princess of Wales ...
on River Tees in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees
The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees is a unitary authority with borough status in the counties of County Durham and North Yorkshire, England. The borough had a population of 191,600 in 2011.
The main settlement and namesake of the borough is Stock ...
File:The road bridge at Stamford Bridge over the River Derwent.jpg, The road bridge at Stamford Bridge over the River Derwent
File:River Wharfe at Tadcaster geograph-402598-by-John-Wray.jpg, River Wharfe at Tadcaster
File:Richmond Castle and the River Swale - geograph.org.uk - 276639.jpg, Richmond Castle and the River Swale
File:River Ure - geograph.org.uk - 150944.jpg, River Ure at Boroughbridge
File:River Nidd and railway viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 1120338.jpg, River Nidd and railway viaduct at Knaresborough
List
The use of the term ''source'' in this list is taken to mean the point at which the name of the river is first used on Ordnance Survey maps.
Map
Sources
* Ordnance Survey Open Viewer https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-government/tools-support/open-data-support
* Google Earth
* National Environment Research Council - Centre for Ecology and Hydrolog
* Environment Agenc
* Map of main river
References
{{Rivers of Yorkshire
Rivers of Yorkshire,
Rivers
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...