The River Calder ( gd, Caladar) is a left bank tributary of the

River Spey The River Spey (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishi ...

in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

. Its headwaters are the an t-Allt Ballach, Allt an Lochain Dubh and Allt Madagain which drain the mountain slopes at the southeastern corner of the

Monadhliath The Monadhliath Mountains , or Monadh Liath, are a range of mountains in Scotland. Monadh Liath is Scottish Gaelic, and means "grey mountain range". Running in a northeast to southwest direction, it lies on the western side of Strathspey, to the w ...

. Their waters are added to by those of the Allt Fionndraigh and Allt a' Chaorainn dropping down into Glen Banchor from the north. The river turns southeastwards and skirts the western edge of

Newtonmore Newtonmore ( gd, Baile Ùr an t-Sléibh ) is a village in the Highland council area of Scotland. The village is only a few miles from a location that is claimed to be the exact geographical centre of Scotland. Activities *Shinty - The town is ...

, running beneath the

A86 road The A86 is a major road in Scotland. It runs from the Great Glen at Spean Bridge to Kingussie and the Cairngorms National Park via Loch Laggan. It is a primary route for its entire length. The road was built as a parliamentary road by Thomas Tel ...

before joining the Spey at Spey Bridge.

Etymology

The name 'Calder' may signify 'hard' or 'rapid water' from the Brythonic words ''caled'' and ''dobhar''. Alternatively, it may be connected with the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

''callaidh'' meaning 'hazel'.Ross, D. 2001 ''Scottish Place-names'', Birlinn, Edinburgh

References

External links

* Calder, Highland 1Calder {{Scotland-river-stub