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River Tay
Looking upstream (north) along the Tay from the centre of Perth
Origin	Loch Tay
Mouth	Firth of Tay
Basin countries	Scotland
Length	120 miles (193 km)
Avg. discharge	170 m³/s
Basin area	4970 km²

The Tay is a river starting in the Highlands and flowing down into the centre of Scotland through Perth and Dundee. It is the longest river in Scotland and the sixth-longest in the UK. It is also the largest river in the UK with a catchment of approximately two thousand square miles (the Tweed is 1,500 square miles and the Spey is 1,097 square miles). Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File linksMetadata St. ... Perth (Scottish Gaelic: ) is a royal burgh in central Scotland. ... River Wey near its source at Farringdon, Hampshire Headstream is the origin of water flow that initiates the subject watercourse. ... A drainage basin is the area within the drainage basin divide (blue outline), and drains the surface runoff and river discharge (green lines) of a contiguous area. ... This article is about the country. ... “Miles” redirects here. ... KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ... In hydrology, the discharge of a river is the volume of water transported by it in a certain amount of time. ... Lowland-Highland divide Highland Sign with welcome in English and Gaelic The Scottish Highlands (A Ghàidhealtachd in Gaelic) include the rugged and mountainous regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault. ... This article is about the country. ... Perth (Scottish Gaelic: ) is a royal burgh in central Scotland. ... For other uses, see Dundee (disambiguation). ... This article is about the country. ... UK redirects here. ... A drainage basin is the area within the drainage basin divide (blue outline), and drains the surface runoff and river discharge (green lines) of a contiguous area. ... There are other rivers with this name: see Tweed River The River Tweed at Abbotsford, near Melrose The River Tweed at Coldstream The River Tweed (156 kilometres or 97 miles long) flows primarily through the Borders region of Scotland. ... The River Spey is a river in Scotland that runs 107 miles (172 km) to the Moray Firth at Spey Bay, making it the second longest river in Scotland. ...

Course

The Tay passing under Smeaton's Bridge in Perth.

The Tay, a famous salmon river, is sourced in the Highlands and flows down into the centre of Scotland through Perth and Dundee. It is the longest river in Scotland and the sixth-longest in the UK. It is also the largest river in the UK with a catchment of approximately two thousand square miles (the Tweed is 1,500 square miles and the Spey is 1,097 square miles). The Tay drains much of the lower region of the Highlands, its source being high on the slopes of Ben Lui. The source is only c. 20 miles (c. 32 km) from the west-coast town of Oban, in Argyll and Bute. The waters flow through Perth and Kinross to the Firth of Tay and the North Sea, some 100 miles (160 km) to the east. The river has a variety of names in the upper catchment: for the first few miles the river is known as the River Connonish; then it is called the River Fillan, and then the name changes again to the River Dochart until it flows into Loch Tay at Killin. The River Tay emerges from Loch Tay at Kenmore, and flows from there to Perth which, in historical times, was the lowest bridging point of the river. Below Perth the river becomes tidal and enters the Firth of Tay. The largest city on the river, Dundee, lies on the north bank of the Firth. Perth (Scottish Gaelic: ) is a royal burgh in central Scotland. ... For other uses, see Salmon (disambiguation). ...

History

The Tay meandering its way east. Viewed from Kinnoull Hill in Perth.

The maximum recorded flow of 2269 m³/s was recorded on January 17, 1993, when the river rose 6.48 metres above its usual level at Perth, and caused extensive flooding in the city. Were it not for the hydro-electric schemes upstream which impounded run-off, the peak would have been considerably higher. The highest ever flood at Perth occurred in 1814, when the river rose 7 m above the usual level, partly caused by a blockage of ice under the Smeaton's Bridge. Other severe flood events occurred in 1210 and 1648 when earlier bridges over the Tay at Perth were destroyed. Kinnoull Hill is a hill located in Perth, Scotland. ... is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the unit of length. ... Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ... Year 1814 (MDCCCXIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ...

In the 19th Century the Tay Rail Bridge was built across the Firth at Dundee as part of the East Coast Main Line, which linked Aberdeen in the north with Edinburgh and, eventually, London to the south. On December 28, 1879 the bridge collapsed as a train passed over it. The entire train fell into the Firth, with the loss of 75 passengers and traincrew. The event was 'immortalised' in a poem, The Tay Bridge Disaster, written by William McGonagall. The critical response to his article was enhanced by the fact that he had previously written two poems celebrating the strength and certain immortality of the Tay Rail Bridge. A view of the Tay Bridge from Dundee Tay Bridge, central section The Tay Bridge (sometimes unofficially the Tay Rail Bridge) is a railway bridge approximately two and a quarter miles (three and a half kilometres) long[1] that spans the Firth of Tay in Scotland, between the city of... For other uses, see Dundee (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Aberdeen (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Edinburgh (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Tay Bridge Disaster is an internationally-known poem by the Scottish poet William McGonagall and recounts the events of the evening of 28 December 1879, when, during a severe gale, Tay Rail Bridge near Dundee collapsed as a train was passing over it with the loss of all on... William Topaz McGonagall (1825–September 29, 1902) was a weaver, actor, and poet. ...

The rail bridge across the Firth was subsequently rebuilt, and in the 1960s a road bridge was built nearby. A view of the Tay Bridge from Dundee Tay Bridge, central section The Tay Bridge (sometimes unofficially the Tay Rail Bridge) is a railway bridge approximately two and a quarter miles (three and a half kilometres) long[1] that spans the Firth of Tay in Scotland, between the city of... The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969. ... The Tay Road Bridge is a road bridge in Scotland over the River Tay from Newport-on-Tay in the north east of Fife, to the City of Dundee. ...

Several places along the Tay take their names from it, or are believed to have done so:

• Dundee - Dun Deagh, Fort on the Tay
• Broughty Ferry, known locally as Brochtie - Bruach Tatha, Bank of the Tay
• Taymouth - Near the mouth of Loch Tay.
• Tayside - A former Scottish Government region

For other uses, see Dundee (disambiguation). ... Broughty Ferry (Brochtie in Scots) is a suburb on the eastern edge of the City of Dundee, situated on the shore of the Firth of Tay in eastern Scotland. ... Loch Tay (Scottish Gaelic, Loch Tatha) is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the district of Perthshire. ... Tayside (Taobh Tatha in Gaelic) was a local government region of Scotland from 1974 to 1995. ...

References in popular culture

The Tay is mentioned in William McGonagall's poem The Tay Bridge Disaster. William Topaz McGonagall (1825–September 29, 1902) was a weaver, actor, and poet. ... The Tay Bridge Disaster is an internationally-known poem by the Scottish poet William McGonagall and recounts the events of the evening of 28 December 1879, when, during a severe gale, Tay Rail Bridge near Dundee collapsed as a train was passing over it with the loss of all on...

See also

• Rivers of Scotland

List of rivers in Scotland is a list of rivers in Scotland, organised geographically, taken anti-clockwise, from Berwick-upon-Tweed. ...

External links

• The Development of the Historic Burgh of Perth