River Severn Welsh: Afon Hafren | |
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The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle | |
![]() Tributaries (light blue) and major settlements on and near the Severn (bold blue) | |
Location | |
Country | England and Wales |
Region | Mid Wales, West Midlands, South West |
Counties | Powys, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire |
Cities | Shrewsbury, Worcester, Gloucester, Bristol |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
- location | Plynlimon, Powys, Wales |
- coordinates | 52°29′36″N 3°44′05″W / 52.493464°N 3.734597°W |
- elevation | 610 m (2,000 ft) |
Mouth | Severn Estuary |
- location | Bristol Channel, United Kingdom |
- elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Length | 354 km (220 mi) |
Basin size | 11,420 km2 (4,410 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
- location | Bewdley, Worcs. SO 7815 7622[1] |
- average | 61.17 m3/s (2,160 cu ft/s)[1] |
- maximum | 533.48 m3/s (18,840 cu ft/s)max recorded on 1947-03-21[2] |
Discharge | |
- location | Apperley, Glos. |
- average | 107 m3/s (3,800 cu ft/s) |
Discharge | |
- location | Montford, Shrops.[3] |
- average | 43.46 m3/s (1,535 cu ft/s) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
- left | Vyrnwy, Tern, Stour, Warwickshire Avon, Bristol Avon |
- right | Teme, Leadon, Wye |
The River Severn (Welsh: Afon Hafren, Latin: Sabrina) is the longest river in Great Britain. It is about 354 kilometres (220 miles) long.[4][5] It starts in the Cambrian Mountains of centre Wales. It then flows through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. The county towns of Shrewsbury, Worcester, and Gloucester are on its banks. The Severn is the greatest river in terms of water flow in England and Wales.
The river is usually considered to become the Severn Estuary after the Second Severn Crossing. The river then discharges into the Bristol Channel, which discharges into the Atlantic Ocean. The Severn's drainage basin area is 0 kError in convert: Unit name "k" is not known (help), excluding the River Wye and the Bristol Avon which flow into the Severn Estuary.