River Kennet

Kennet
The Kennet near Axford, Wiltshire
The Avon of North Wiltshire and Somerset (to west, left) and the Kennet flowing into the Thames. Linking canal network in red.
EtymologyLinked to place name: Cunetio (very likely from Celtic kūn, hound)
Location
CountryEngland
CountiesWiltshire, Berkshire
TownsMarlborough, Hungerford, Newbury, Reading
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationSwallowhead Spring, near Silbury Hill, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
 • coordinates51°30′10″N 1°50′42″W / 51.50276°N 1.84507°W / 51.50276; -1.84507
 • elevation200 m (660 ft)
MouthRiver Thames
 • location
Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
 • coordinates
51°27′33″N 0°56′58″W / 51.459148°N 0.94947°W / 51.459148; -0.94947
 • elevation
40 m (130 ft)
Length72 km (45 mi)
Discharge 
 • locationTheale, Berkshire
 • average9.75 m3/s (344 cu ft/s)
 • minimum0.93 m3/s (33 cu ft/s)21 August 1976
 • maximum70.0 m3/s (2,470 cu ft/s)11 June 1971
Discharge 
 • locationNewbury, Berkshire
 • average4.64 m3/s (164 cu ft/s)
Discharge 
 • locationKnighton, Wiltshire
 • average2.50 m3/s (88 cu ft/s)
Discharge 
 • locationMarlborough, Wiltshire
 • average0.85 m3/s (30 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftRiver Og, River Lambourn
 • rightRiver Dun, River Enborne, Clayhill Brook, Foudry Brook
StatusLargest tributary of outflow river

The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which – together with the Avon Navigation, the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Thames – links the cities of Bristol and London.

The length from near its sources west of Marlborough, Wiltshire down to Woolhampton, Berkshire is a 111.1-hectare (275-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).[1][2] This is primarily from an array of rare plants and animals completely endemic to chalky watercourses.[3]

When Wiltshire had second-tier local authorities, one, Kennet District, took the name of the river.

  1. ^ "Designated Sites View: River Kennet". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Map of River Kennet". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  3. ^ "River Kennet citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 23 October 2019.