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River

River Thames

334 km from source to mouth · United Kingdom.

United KingdomUnited KingdomFlows into North Sea2nd longest in United Kingdom

Follow the riverMonth by month

SourceMouthLondon
The river and every tributary in its basin, drawn from RiverATLAS (CC BY 4.0).

In numbers

Length

334km

Average flow

66m³/s

Basin

15,300km²

Drop

85m

from 83 m to -2 m

Country

1

The journey

From source to mouth

334 km of river and 68 stops on the way: 24 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.

83 m-2 m
Kembleat 83 m0 km
Farmoor Reservoir1.6 km²70 km
Oxford147,500 people83 km
Reading162,666 people151 km
Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake2.2 km²157 km
Slough164,793 people209 km
Windsor32,184 people210 km
Kew GardensUNESCO World Heritage258 km
London8,799,728 people281 km
North Seaat -2 m334 km
0100200300334 km
  1. 0 kmKembleat 83 m
  2. 33 kmRiver Colntributary
  3. 37 kmRiver Coletributary
  4. 40 kmRiver Leachtributary
  5. 69 kmRiver Windrushtributary
  6. 70 kmFarmoor Reservoir1.6 km²
  7. 77 kmRiver Evenlodetributary
  8. 83 kmOxford147,500 people
  9. 85 kmRiver Cherwelltributary
  10. 98 kmAbingdon-on-Thames33,130 people
  11. 100 kmRiver Ocktributary
  12. 115 kmRiver Thametributary
  13. 140 kmRiver Pangtributary
  14. 151 kmReading162,666 people
  15. 157 kmRedgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake2.2 km²
  16. 163 kmRiver Kennettributary
  17. 168 kmRiver Loddontributary
  18. 197 kmMaidenhead63,580 people
  19. 204 kmThe Cut, Berkshiretributary
  20. 208 kmWindsor Castle
  21. 209 kmSlough164,793 people
  22. 210 kmWindsor32,184 people
  23. 212 kmQueen Mother Reservoir2.4 km²
  24. 218 kmWraysbury Reservoir2.5 km²
  25. 219 kmKing George VI Reservoir1.6 km²
  26. 220 kmStaines Reservoirs1.0 km²
  27. 220 kmRiver Colnetributary
  28. 223 kmQueen Mary Reservoir3.1 km²
  29. 224 kmSt Ann's Lake0.4 km²
  30. 225 kmAbbey Lake0.3 km²
  31. 232 kmWalton-on-Thames66,566 people
  32. 232 kmRiver Ashtributary
  33. 235 kmQueen Elizabeth II Reservoir1.5 km²
  34. 235 kmKnight Reservoir0.6 km²
  35. 239 kmLongford Rivertributary
  36. 240 kmRiver Moletributary
  37. 241 kmIsland Barn Reservoir0.6 km²
  38. 241 kmHampton Court Palace
  39. 246 kmKingston upon Thames43,013 people
  40. 251 kmTwickenham62,148 people
  41. 258 kmKew GardensUNESCO World Heritage
  42. 263 kmRiver Brenttributary
  43. 266 kmHammersmith95,996 people
  44. 267 kmLonsdale Road Reservoir0.3 km²
  45. 269 kmPutney77,140 people
  46. 271 kmRiver Wandletributary
  47. 273 kmBattersea73,345 people
  48. 275 kmChelsea41,440 people
  49. 279 kmWestbournetributary
  50. 280 kmCity of Westminster247,614 people
  51. 280 kmPalace of Westminster
  52. 281 kmLondon8,799,728 people
  53. 283 kmIslington319,143 people
  54. 284 kmCity of London8,583 people
  55. 285 kmLondon Bridge
  56. 286 kmTower of LondonUNESCO World Heritage
  57. 286 kmTower Bridge
  58. 293 kmRiver Pecktributary
  59. 294 kmGreenwich30,578 people
  60. 303 kmWoolwich84,959 people
  61. 306 kmLondon Borough of Barking and Dagenham211,998 people
  62. 306 kmBarking218,534 people
  63. 306 kmRiver Rodingtributary
  64. 314 kmRiver Ingrebournetributary
  65. 314 kmRiver Romtributary
  66. 319 kmRiver Darenttributary
  67. 322 kmDartford51,240 people
  68. 330 kmGrays44,341 people
  69. 330 kmGravesend74,000 people
  70. 334 kmNorth Seaat -2 m

Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.

River in southern England

At the mouth it carries 66 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 38 seconds. It drops from 83 m to -2 m, 0.3 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 15,300 km², about the size of TL. 13.7 million people live in it. Highest water: from December to January. No large dam holds it back: it is one of the world's free-flowing rivers.

Read more on Wikipedia

Where to start

  • LondonLargest city on its banks · 8,799,728 people
  • London City Airport (LCY)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 13 km from the cityCar hire at LCY airport (London)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • On the water316 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
  • Kayak and canoe1 put-ins and rapids mapped (OpenStreetMap)
  • From June to SeptemberThe best months to visit

River Thames, month by month

Highest water: from December to January

Best months to visit: from June to September.

180
4°59 mmJan
140
4°40 mmFeb
110
6°50 mmMar
82
9°45 mmApr
76
12°51 mmMay
62
16°52 mmJun
50
17°47 mmJul
54
17°56 mmAug
71
14°58 mmSep
100
11°61 mmOct
140
7°63 mmNov
170
4°63 mmDec
Water (estimated flow)Air (average) Rain (mm)Best months

From about 50 m³/s in the lowest month to 180 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.

Plan the trip

Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car

Car hire at LCY airport (London)Discover CarsSee 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The basin

River Thames: the basin in numbers

13,323 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.

Free-flowingDams upstream can hold only 0.0% of a year's flow: the river still keeps its natural rhythm.
  • 13.7millionpeople live in the basin
  • 1,039/km²people per km²
  • 100maverage altitude of the basin
  • 671mmof rain a year (basin average)
  • 9.7°Caverage air temperature
  • 29%protected areas
  • 0.5%covered by lakes

What covers the basin

  • 1% Forest
  • 37% Cropland
  • 13% Pasture
  • 30% Towns and cities

RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.

Along the river

River Thames: what you find on the way

  • 15Dams
  • 233WeirsGloucester Street Sluice Gates, Barton Mill Sluice Gates, St.John's Lock Weir and 230 more
  • 221LocksRiver Thames, Buscot Lock, Northmoor Lock and 218 more
  • 5Waterfalls
  • 1Canoe put-ins
  • 174Boat rampsBablock Hythe Ferry Slipway, St Catherine's College Punts, Merton College Punts and 171 more
  • 64Ferry piersBenson Marina, Thames RiverCruise, The Little Green Boat Company - Marlow and 61 more
  • 63MarinasLechlade Marina, Maybush Moorings, Oxford Cruisers and 60 more
  • 15Boat rentalsPedalos, Cotswolds Canoe Hire, Salters Steamers and 12 more
  • 11River beachesCheese Wharf, Wolvercote Mill Stream Bathing Place, Long Bridges Bathing Place and 8 more

From OpenStreetMap, within 1.9 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.

Cross-checked with our atlases

River Thames in our other atlases

What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.

  • 13lakes on its wayLakeyas
  • 1mountain at the sourcePeakyas
  • 2islands off the mouthIslandyas

Lakes and reservoirs (13)

Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas

  1. Farmoor Reservoirkm 591.6km²
  2. Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lakekm 1332.2km²
  3. Queen Mother Reservoirkm 1802.4km²
  4. Wraysbury Reservoirkm 1852.5km²
  5. King George VI Reservoirkm 1861.6km²
  6. Staines Reservoirskm 1861.0km²
  7. Queen Mary Reservoirkm 1893.1km²
  8. Queen Elizabeth II Reservoirkm 1991.5km²

5 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

Mountains at the source (1)

Within 15 km of the source, by Peakyas

  1. Cotswolds12 km away330m

Open Peakyas ↗

Islands off the mouth (2)

Within 30 km of the mouth, by Islandyas

  1. Deadman's Island28 km away
  2. St Mary's Island17 km away

Islandyas is coming soonOpen Islandyas ↗

From space

The source and the mouth, seen from orbit

River Thames: satellite view of the source
The source14 km across
River Thames: satellite view of the mouth
The mouth16 km across

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.

Photos

River Thames in pictures

River thames oxford
Zxb · CC BY-SA 2.0 at
London MMB P6 River Thames
mattbuck ( category ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
London MMB »0A1 River Thames
mattbuck ( category ) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tower of London viewed from the River Thames
Bob Collowan · CC BY-SA 3.0

Tributaries

Where it flows, and what flows into it

Tributaries (41)

Also: River Medway, River Kennet, River Cherwell, River Wey, River Wandle, River Brent, River Mole, River Darent, River Roding, River Ravensbourne, River Windrush, River Colne, Westbourne, River Ock, River Evenlode, River Thame, River Churn, River Loddon, River Coln, River Crane, Bow Creek, Mardyke, River Pang, Hogsmill River

In the same basin

River LeaUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom68 km38 m³/s

Nearby

Rivers nearby

River LeaUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom68 km38 m³/s17 km awayRiver Great OuseUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom240 km66 m³/s147 km awayRiver SommeFranceFrance245 km35 m³/s169 km awaySeineFranceFrance777 km500 m³/s220 km awayAa RiverFranceFrance89 km10 m³/s134 km awayRiver SevernUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom354 km110 m³/s196 km awayYserBelgiumBelgium78 km15 m³/s171 km awayRiver NeneUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom146 km20 m³/s152 km away

Where these numbers come from

Name, length, placesWikidata (Q19686) · CC0
Course, profile, basinRiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata
FlowWaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Climate along the riverWorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Towns, bridges, damsWikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Along the river© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Our other atlasesLakeyas, Peakyas, Islandyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every source and licence is on the data sources page.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit