The river of London, spanned by Tower Bridge and guarded against floods by the great Thames Barrier.
Length
346 km
Source
Thames Head, Gloucestershire
Mouth
North Sea (Thames Estuary)
Continent
Europe
Countries
United Kingdom
Did you know?
The Thames was once so polluted that 1858 became known as the 'Great Stink'; today it is one of the cleanest rivers to flow through a major city.
Little-known fact
It freezes so rarely that Londoners once held 'frost fairs' — whole markets and even elephants — on the ice.
Highlights
- The river of London
- Recovered from the 'Great Stink'
- Once hosted frost fairs on the ice
Life in the Thames
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Animals & fish
Atlantic salmon
The “king of fish” — it is born in a river, grows at sea, then fights its way back upstream to spawn where it hatched.
Eurasian otter
A sleek, playful hunter whose return to a river is a sign the water has run clean again.
Waterbirds
Common kingfisher
A dazzling blue-and-orange dart that plunges from a perch to spear fish in an instant.
Grey heron
A patient, statue-still angler that stalks the shallows of rivers and lakes across the Old World.
Mute swan
The great white swan of European waters, gliding in pairs that often mate for life.
Mallard
The familiar green-headed dabbling duck — ancestor of most domestic ducks — found on waters worldwide.
Water plants & reeds
Water lily
Rooted in the mud, its round pads and star-like flowers float on the still surface of lakes and backwaters.
Interactive · 3D journey
Journey of a river · source → sea
Every river runs the same great journey — from an icy mountain spring, down through gorges and looping meanders, to a wide delta where it meets the sea. Tap a stage to follow the water downstream.
Tip: hover to tilt the valley · tap a stage to float downstream
The Source
Every river begins high up — in a mountain spring, a melting glacier or a boggy upland. The water is cold, clear and fast, tumbling down the steepest ground of its whole journey.
Landforms here