The Ouse Washes are an area in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. They cover the area between two tributaries of the River Great Ouse: the Old Bedford River and the New Bedford River (also known as the Hundred Foot Drain). The Fens may also refer to the Back Bay Fens, park in Boston, Massachusetts. ... Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs) is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... The Great Ouse at St Neots The River Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. ... The Old Bedford River is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. ... The New Bedford River, also known as the Hundred Foot Drain because of the distance between the tops of the two embankments on either side of the river, is a man-made tributary of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. ... The New Bedford River, also known as the Hundred Foot Drain because of the distance between the tops of the two embankments on either side of the river, is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. ...

In 1630, Charles I of England granted a drainage charter to the 4th Earl of Bedford who engaged the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden to construct the two Bedford rivers. The area between the rivers is 20 miles long and almost 1 mile wide and acts as washland, i.e. a floodplain during the winter and, increasingly, also in summer. Events February 22 - Native American Quadequine introduces Popcorn to English colonists. ... Charles I (19 November 1600–30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625, until his death. ... Alternate use, see charter airline or bare-boat charter. ... Cornelius Vermuyden was a Dutch engineer in the Mid-1600s. ... In geography, a floodplain is an area of relatively level land that is inundated from time to time. ...

The Washes are now of international importance for their wildfowl, and there are nature reserves at WWT Welney and RSPB Ouse Washes. Falcated Duck at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands centre, Gloucestershire, England Wildfowl or waterfowl, also waterbirds, is the collective term for the approximately 147 species of swans, geese and ducks, classified in the order Anseriformes, family Anatidae. ... WWT Welney is one of nine wildfowl and wetland reserves managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust The reserve is at Welney in Cambridgeshire, England, 12 miles north of Ely, 26 miles north of Cambridge and 33 miles east of Peterborough. ... RSPB Ouse Washes is a nature reserve in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England, managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds at Welches Dam. ...