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River Tees¶
High Force on the River Tees
Origin	Cross Fell
Mouth	North Sea
Length	132 km (85 mi)
Source elevation	754 m (2510 ft)
Avg. discharge	sd
Basin area	1834 km² (708 mi²)

The Tees is a river in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the Pennines, and flows eastwards for about 85 miles (132 km) to the North Sea, between Hartlepool and Redcar.^[1] It drains an area of 708 square miles (1834 square km), and subsumes no important tributaries. The river formed the boundaries between the historic counties of County Durham and Yorkshire. At its lower reaches it now forms the boundary between the ceremonial counties of County Durham and North Yorkshire.

In the earliest part of its course it forms the boundary between the historic counties of Westmorland and Durham. The head of the valley, of which the upper portion is known as Teesdale, has a desolate grandeur; the hills, exceeding 2500 feet in height at some points, consist of bleak moorland. This area is part of the North Pennine Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, recently designated a geological Europark, the first in the UK.

A succession of falls or rapids, where the river traverses a hard series of black basaltic rocks, is called "Cauldron Snout". From a point immediately below this to its mouth, the Tees forms the boundary between the traditional counties of Durham and Yorkshire almost without a break, although since 1974 much of it lies wholly in Durham. The dale becomes bolder below Cauldron Snout, and trees appear, contrasting with the broken rocks where the water dashes over High Force, the highest waterfall in England.

The scenery becomes gentler and more picturesque as it descends past Middleton-in-Teesdale (Durham). This locality has lead and ironstone resources. The ancient town of Barnard Castle, Egglestone Abbey, and Rokeby Hall, well known through Sir Walter Scott's poem, are passed; and then the valley begins to open out, and it traverses the rich plain east and south of Darlington in sweeping curves.

The course of the valley until here has been generally east-southeast, but it now turns northeast and, nearing the sea, becomes an important commercial waterway, having on its banks the ports of Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough. It passes through the Tees Barrage between Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough, turning tidal downstream from the barrage.

Teesport is built on reclaimed land on the south side of the Tees estuary below Middlesbrough. Is the busiest port in the country, shipping over a million tonnes of cargo per year.

The River Tees was featured on the television programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the North.

Before the heavy industrialization and pollution of the Tees by industry, the flats at Seal Sands in the Tees estuary were home to Common Seals and Grey Seals. For around 100 years these species were lost from the estuary due to the heavy pollution. In recent times however, water quality has improved drastically, and they can now be seen in the estuary and on the flats at Seal Sands once again.^[2] The Seal Sands area is now designated as the Teesmouth National Nature Reserve.In Victorian times the river was diverted to make it straighter thus saving money and time.

Peg Powler is a hag from English folklore who is said to inhabit the River Tees.

1. ^ "BBC Where I Live" - BBC. Retrieved 2 March 2007.
2. ^ "Natures World" Natures World Tees Feature

• List of settlements on the River Tees
• Rivers of the United Kingdom

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.