How fast does the river shannon flows

The river represents a major physical barrier between east and west, as there are fewer than thirty crossing-points between Limerick in the south and the village of Dowra in the north. The Shannon has been an important waterway since antiquity. It was described by the Graeco-Egyptian geographer Ptolemy. The river flows generally southward from the Shannon Pot in County Cavan before turning west and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean through the long Shannon Estuary, 70 miles long.

Limerick city stands at head of the estuary, where the river water meets the sea water. The Shannon is unaffected by sea tides east of Limerick. It is named, so it is said, after an Irish goddess named Sionna. By tradition the Shannon is said to rise in the Shannon Pot , a small pool on the slopes of Cuilcagh Mountain in County Cavan , from where the young river appears as a small trout stream. Surveys have defined a 4. The highest point in the catchment is a spring at Tiltinbane on the western end of the Cuilcagh mountain ridge.

From the Shannon Pot, the river subsumes a number of tributaries before replenishing Lough Allen at its head. The river runs through or between 11 of Ireland's counties , subsuming the tributary rivers Inny , Suck and Brosna , before reaching the Shannon Estuary at Limerick. At a total length of miles, this means it is the longest river in both Ireland and the wider British Isles. There are some tributaries within the River Shannon system which may have headwaters that are further in length from source to mouth than the Shannon Pot source, such as the Owenmore River in County Cavan, which flows west through the valley of Glengavlin, joining the Shannon about 2 miles below Lugnashinna.

Apart from being Ireland's longest river, the Shannon is also, by far, Ireland's largest river by flow. It has a Long Term Average Flow rate of 45, gallons a second: this is double the flow rate of Ireland's 2nd largest river, the River Corrib in County Galway 23, gallons a second.

She went to Connla's Well to find wisdom, despite being warned not to approach it. In some sources she, like Fionn mac Cumhaill, caught and ate the Salmon of Wisdom who swam there, becoming the wisest being on Earth.

However, the well then burst forth, drowning Sionann and carrying her out to sea. It is believed that Sionann was held to be the goddess of the river. Patricia Monaghan notes that "The drowning of a goddess in a river is common in Irish mythology and typically represents the dissolving of her divine power into the water, which then gives life to the land".

Vikings settled in the region in 10th century and used the river to raid the rich monasteries deep inland. In the 17th century, the Shannon was of major strategic importance in military campaign in Ireland, as it formed a physical boundary between the east and west of the country.

In the Irish Confederate Wars of , the Irish retreated behind the Shannon in and held out for two further years against English Parliamentarian forces. In preparing a land settlement, or plantation after his conquest of Ireland Oliver Cromwell reputedly said the remaining Irish landowners would go to "Hell or Connaught", referring to their choice of forced migration west across the river Shannon, or death, thus freeing up the eastern landholdings for the incoming English settlers.

In the Williamite war in Ireland —91 , the Jacobites also retreated behind the Shannon after their defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in Athlone and Limerick, cities commanding bridges over the river, saw bloody sieges. The mighty River Shannon is not only a very important and historic river in Ireland, but it is also a very popular tourist destination. People come from all over to enjoy fishing , boating holidays, water sports and of course, the breathtaking scenery, not to mention the warm Irish welcome that awaits in its many towns and cities.

Always wanted to know how long is the River Shannon or exactly where River Shannon starts and ends? Read on to find out about Shannon Cruises. The River Shannon is in Ireland and begins in County Cavan flowing down through the middle of the country, almost separating the west from the east. Sionnan is the Goddess of the River Shannon. As Sionnan lifted the cover off the well, it erupted and the water flowed down the mountain dividing the country in two.

Her body was washed down the mountain and she transformed into the goddess of the River Shannon. The River Shannon is km miles long , making it the longest river in Ireland.

In fact, it is the longest river in all of Britain and Ireland. This is where the River Shannon ends and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. There are three main lakes on the River Shannon. Lough Allen is the smallest of the three main lakes on the River Shannon. The next biggest lake on the River Shannon is Lough Ree, which separates counties Longford and Westmeath in the east from County Roscommon in the west.

The most southerly, and also the largest lake on the River Shannon is Lough Derg. Some parts of the River Shannon are actually quite shallow with a depth of about 0. It falls just 18 metres 59 feet in the first km miles of its course.

The River Shannon is home to plenty of fish too and there is an abundance of fishing hotspots and coarse angling areas.

The River Shannon is ideal for lock-free boating holidays - with no commercial traffic, and only 6 locks in its kilometres of cruising water.