The name may have meant "dark" and can be compared to other cognates such as Russian темно ( Proto-Slavic * tĭmĭnŭ), Lithuanian tamsi "dark", Latvian tumsa "darkness", Sanskrit tamas and Welsh tywyll "darkness" and Middle Irish teimen "dark grey". Īccording to Mallory and Adams, the Thames, from Middle English Temese, is derived from the Brittonic name for the river, Tamesas (from * tamēssa), recorded in Latin as Tamesis and yielding modern Welsh Tafwys "Thames". With its waters varying from freshwater to almost seawater, the Thames supports a variety of wildlife and has a number of adjoining Sites of Special Scientific Interest, with the largest being in the North Kent Marshes and covering 5,289 hectares (20.4 sq mi). Its catchment area covers a large part of south-eastern and a small part of western England the river is fed by at least 50 named tributaries. In Scotland, the Tay achieves more than double the Thames' average discharge from a drainage basin that is 60% smaller.Īlong its course are 45 navigation locks with accompanying weirs. Running through some of the driest parts of mainland Britain and heavily abstracted for drinking water, the Thames' discharge is low considering its length and breadth: the Severn has a discharge almost twice as large on average despite having a smaller drainage basin. Its tidal section, reaching up to Teddington Lock, includes most of its London stretch and has a rise and fall of 23 feet (7 m).
The Thames drains the whole of Greater London. It rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, and flows into the North Sea via the Thames Estuary. The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway, derived from its long tidal reach up to Teddington Lock. It flows through Oxford (where it is commonly called the Isis), Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor. At 215 miles (346 km), it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the River Severn. The River Thames ( TEMZ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London.
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