Abstract
THE river basins to which this little book refers are those of Great Britain and Ireland, and the notes are published, the author says, in the hope that they may be found useful to pupil-teachers. They are intended to form a supplement to the usual text-books of school geography. The rivers of England are given first, then those of Scotland and Ireland, each system being preceded by a general sketch of the course of the water-shed (or “water-parting,“as Mr. Williams prefers to call it) of the country to which it belongs, and followed by a section on the canals. The author commences at one end of each country, takes the rivers in their order round the coast, names the drainage basin and source, describes the course and mouth, takes up and describes each tributary and affluent as it occurs, names and gives the measurements-of any lakes which may be in the way, mentions the most remarkable features, and ends by giving the length of the main river and the area of its basin. So far as we have tested it the information seems in the main accurate, and the list of rivers and tributaries is remarkably full. Mr. Williams mentions the fall of the Rumbling Bridge on the Devon, a tributary of the Forth, but takes no notice of the equally high and equally grand fall of the same name on the Bran, a tributary of the Tay. It is surely very unusual to spell Dunkeld “Dunkield.” The book will be useful to all who wish to have the main details concerning British rivers and canals carefully and clearly arranged in a handy form.
Notes on River Basins.
By Robert A. Williams. (London: Longmans and Co., 1872.)
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Notes on River Basins . Nature 7, 122 (1872). https://doi.org/10.1038/007122a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/007122a0