River Trent
The Trent is third in the list of longest rivers in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands into the Humber Estuary. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and spring snowmelt, which in the past often caused the river to change course.
| River Trent | |
|---|---|
Trent Bridge, with Nottingham in the background | |
The drainage basin of the River Trent | |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Country within the UK | England |
| Counties | Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire |
| Cities | Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham |
| Towns | Stone, Rugeley, Burton upon Trent, Newark-on-Trent, Gainsborough |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Biddulph Moor, Staffordshire, England |
| • coordinates | 53.11611°N 2.14028°W |
| • elevation | 275 m (902 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Trent Falls, Humber Estuary, Lincolnshire, England |
• coordinates | 53.70083°N 0.69111°W |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 298 km (185 mi) |
| Basin size | 10,435 km2 (4,029 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Colwick |
| • average | 84 m3/s (3,000 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 15 m3/s (530 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 1,018 m3/s (36,000 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | North Muskham |
| • average | 88 m3/s (3,100 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Blithe, Swarbourn, Dove, Derwent, Erewash, Leen, Greet, Idle, Torne |
| • right | Sow, Tame, Mease, Soar, Devon, Eau |
| Progression : River Trent — Humber — North Sea | |
The river passes through Stoke-on-Trent, Stone, Staffordshire, Rugeley, Burton-upon-Trent and Nottingham before joining the River Ouse, Yorkshire at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea between Kingston upon Hull in Yorkshire and Immingham in Lincolnshire. The wide Humber estuary has often been described as the boundary between the Midlands and the north of England.