The River Ouse ( ) is a river in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. Hydrologically, the river is a continuation of the

River Ure The River Ure in North Yorkshire, England, is about long from its source to the point where it becomes the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only major dale now named after a village rather than its river. ...

, and the combined length of the River Ure and River Ouse makes it, at , the sixth-longest river of the United Kingdom and (including the Ure) the longest to flow entirely in one county. The length of the Ouse alone is about but the total length of the river is disputed. It is a matter of opinion as to whether the River Ouse is formed at the confluence of the River Ure and the much-smaller Ouse Gill Beck at Cuddy Shaw Reach near

Linton-on-Ouse Linton-on-Ouse is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, about eight miles north-west of York. It lies on the north bank of the River Ouse. History The village is mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'' as ''Lucton ...

, about six miles downstream of the confluence of the

River Swale The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley throu ...

with the River Ure. An alternative opinion is recorded in a publication published in ''The Yorkshire Post'' in a series dated 1891, written and illustrated by Tom Bradley. His description and bird's-eye-view maps—specifically in his account of the

—suggests that the River Ouse starts at the confluence of the Swale and the Ure. His narrative states that the Ouse has no specific source, simply flowing from the stated confluence until it runs into 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 River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

at the confluence of the Ouse and Trent. Continuing the path of the Ouse downstream from Linton-on-Ouse, it then flows through the city of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and the nearby towns of

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

and

Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's Historic counties of England, historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom censu ...

before joining with the

River Trent The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands ...

at Trent Falls, near the village of Faxfleet, then entering the Humber estuary. The Ouse's system of tributaries includes the Derwent, Aire, Don, Hipper, Wharfe, Rother, Nidd, Swale, Ure and

Foss Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software available under a license that grants users the right to use, modify, and distribute the software modified or not to everyone free of charge. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term encompassing free ...

. Together they drain a large part of the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...

, and much of the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

and

North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...

. The Ouse valley is a wide, flat plain; heavy rainfall higher in the river's

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

can bring severe flooding to settlements. In recent years

and villages in between have been flooded.

Sources

The traditional source of the Ouse is in the village of

Great Ouseburn Great Ouseburn is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated south-east of Boroughbridge. The village of Aldwark, Hambleton, Aldwark is to the north-east. It had a population of 598 according to the 20 ...

, and is marked by a stone column reading "OUSE RIVER HEAD... OUSEGILL SPRING Ft. YORK 13 miles BOROUGHBRIDGE 4 miles". The site is from the present course of Ouse Gill Beck, a small stream earlier known as ''Usekeld Beck'', meaning "Spring or source of the Ouse" (from

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''kelda'' "spring"). The start of the Ouse is now considered to be the point where Ouse Gill Beck joins the River Ure, south-east of Great Ouseburn.

Etymology

The name was first recorded in about 780 as ''Usa''. It has been speculated that the name is of Romano-Brittonic (Celtic) origin, from an assumed word ''udso-'', assumed to be derived from the Indo-European root ''wed-'', meaning "water". Alternatively, 'Isaf' and 'Ychaf' are common form of place names in modern Welsh (Romano Britonic's successor) meaning 'upper' and 'lower'. The letter 'U' forms an 'I' sound in Welsh. Other sources prefer a

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed throu ...

origin. It has been suggested that the Ouse was once known as the 'Ure', but there seems to be no supporting evidence for this claim. The suggestion that the name derives from the Romano-British name of the Ure, assumed to be ''Isurā'' from the Roman name for Aldborough, and over time evolved into ''Isis'' and finally the Saxon ''Ouse'', would go some way to explaining how the little tributary Ouse Gill Beck usurps the name of the much larger River Ure. However the form Ouse is little changed from the eighth century.

Navigation

The Ouse is navigable throughout its length. Seagoing vessels use the river as far as Howdendyke. The inland port of Goole also accepts seagoing vessels on a regular basis. Goole also offers access to the

Aire and Calder Navigation The Aire and Calder Navigation is the River engineering#Canalization of rivers, canalised section of the River Aire, Rivers Aire and River Calder, West Yorkshire, Calder in West Yorkshire, England. The first improvements to the rivers above Kn ...

. At Selby there is access to the Selby Canal. The river is tidal up to

Naburn Naburn is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the eastern side of the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse about south of York. According to ...

; the resultant

tidal bore A tidal bore, often simply given as bore in context, is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travels up a river or narrow bay, reversing the direction of the river or bay's cu ...

is known locally as "the Aegir". At Naburn there is a weir with locks, so that boats of length and beam can reach York. Above York there is another weir with locks at

, which allows boats of length to proceed to the River Ure Navigation. Adjacent to the lock is Linton Lock Hydro plant. This is capable of generating enough electricity to power 450 homes. The

navigation authority A navigation authority is a company or statutory body which is concerned with the management of a navigable canal or river. Rights of a navigation authority Whilst the rights of individual authorities vary, a navigation authority will typically hav ...

is Associated British Ports from Trent Falls to Goole railway swing bridge at Skelton, and the

Canal & River Trust The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...

upstream from there. In the 18th and 19th centuries, there was considerable commercial traffic on the river, mainly from Selby, which then had a custom house, downstream. After the 1826 opening of the Aire and Calder Navigation, most traffic became concentrated on the port of Goole. This continues, although the coal trade which formed the backbone of the river trade has ceased.

Settlements

* Lower Dunsforth * Aldwark *

* Newton-on-Ouse *

Nun Monkton Nun Monkton is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of York at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Nidd, Nidd. Cottages and houses are grouped around a v ...

* Beningbrough * Overton * Nether Poppleton *

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

* Fulford *

Bishopthorpe Bishopthorpe is a village and civil parish three miles south of York in the City of York Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Bishopthorpe is ...

Acaster Malbis Acaster Malbis () is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York, England. It is located on the River Ouse, almost south of York. Nearby are the villages of Copmanthorpe to the north-west, Bishopthorpe 2 miles to ...

* Acaster Selby * Cawood * Kelfield * Riccall * Barlby *

* Hemingbrough * Barmby on the Marsh * Booth *

Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

* Skelton *

* Swinefleet * Saltmarshe * Reedness * Little Reedness *

Yokefleet Yokefleet (also known as Yorkfleet) is a Hamlet (place), hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Blacktoft, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. A very small part of Yokefleet is in the civil parish of Laxton, East Riding of Y ...

* Whitgift * Blacktoft * Ousefleet * Faxfleet ''(Joins Trent at Trent Falls to form Humber)

Flooding

With both the Ouse and the Foss running through York, flooding has been a problem throughout its documented history. Flooding is known to have occurred in 1263, 1316, 1564, 1625, 1638, 1947, 1978, 1982,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, 2010 and 2015. In November 2000, the floods reached a height of above sea level, whilst over the Christmas period of 2015, the level reached . A barrier was installed on the mouth of the River Foss in York city centre in 1989, so that when the Ouse was in flood, water would not run upstream of the Foss and flood the city. Flooding occurs typically due to heavy rainfall further upstream in the catchment area of the Ouse (Swale, Ure, Nidd) which covers , (the Foss catchment is . Low-lying land around the villages of Kelfield, Riccall, Wistow and Cawood, which are south of York, are designated as a floodplain, though it can cause damage to properties there. In February 2020, it was estimated that over of fields were under floodwater, making the size comparable to that of

Windermere Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...

, England's largest natural lake. As the Ouse is tidal as far inland as Naburn, this means that flooding can occur due to heavy rainwater or tidal surges in the downstream settlements of Selby and Goole.

Gallery

File:Nun Monkton Priory - geograph.org.uk - 184550.jpg,

, north west of York File:High Water York - geograph.org.uk - 1588405.jpg, The River Ouse in the city of York File:The A64 crossing the river Ouse - geograph.org.uk - 1220879.jpg, The A64 crossing the River Ouse,

, York File:Approach to Naburn Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1512256.jpg, The Marina in

, south of York File:River Ouse at Selby - geograph.org.uk - 644740.jpg, River Ouse at

File:Goole rail bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1520503.jpg, Goole swing rail bridge

References

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouse River navigations in the United Kingdom Rivers of North Yorkshire Rivers of the East Riding of Yorkshire River Ouse

Sources

Etymology

Navigation

Settlements

Flooding

Gallery

See also

References

Sources

External links