Home > River Tay

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 was in historical times 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 band of the Firth.

The main tributaries of the River Tay are the Almond, Isla, Braan, Tummel and Lyon. Like the River Spey, River DeeThe River Dee is a 90 mile (140 km) long river, which rises in the Cairngorms, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and flows to the North Sea. The area directly west of Aberdeen which runs parallel with the Dee is known as Royal Deeside due to the British monarchs' and River TweedThe River Tweed (156 kilometres or 97 miles long) flows primarily through the Borders region of Scotland. It rises on Tweedsmuir at Tweeds Well. It drains the entire Borders region. Its lower reaches mark the Scots border with England for 27 kilometres ne, the River Tay is a famous salmonThis article is about the fish. For the color, see salmon (color). Salmon is the common name for several species of fish of the Salmonidae family. Several other fishes in the family are called trout. Salmon live in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. river.

The catchment of the Tay system covers an area of 4970 square kilometres. The average annual flow of the River Tay at Perth is about 170 cubic metres per second (m³ s^-1). The maximum recorded flow of 2269 m³ s^-1 was recorded on January 17January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 348 days remaining (349 in leap years) Events 1562 Huguenots were recognized under the Edict of St. 1773 Captain James Cook becomes the first explorer to cross the Antarctic Circl 19931993 is a common year starting on Friday and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003 Events January January 1 Czechoslovakia divides. Establishment of independent Slovakia and Czech Republic., when the river rose 6.48 m 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 1814Events January 14 Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden January 29 French army of Emperor Napoleon I wins the Battle of Brienne January 31 Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina. February Congress of Chatillon see George Hamilton Gordo, when the river rose 7 m above the usual level, partly caused by a blockage of ice under the Smeaton Bridge. Other severe flood events occurred in 1210Events End of the reign of Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan Emperor Juntoku ascends to the throne of Japan Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor excommunicated by Pope Innocent III for invading southern Italy in 1210 Gottfried von Strassburg writes his epic poem Trist and 1648 when earlier bridges over the Tay at Perth were destroyed.

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 28th 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. McGonagall, who lived in Dundee for much of his life, is regarded as being one of the worst poets in the English Language.

The rail bridge across the Firth was subsequently rebuilt, and in the 1960s a road bridge was also added in approximately the same location.