River Clyde
| River Clyde | |
|---|---|
The River Clyde running through the city of Glasgow | |
| Native name | Abhainn Chluaidh (Scottish Gaelic) |
| Location | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Council areas | South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, Argyll and Bute |
| City | Glasgow |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Lowther Hills in South Lanarkshire |
| • location | South Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| • coordinates | 55°24′23.8″N 3°39′8.9″W / 55.406611°N 3.652472°W |
| Mouth | Firth of Clyde |
• location | Tail of the Bank, between Greenock and Ardmore Point near Helensburgh, Scotland |
• coordinates | 55°58′12″N 4°45′15″W / 55.97000°N 4.75417°W |
| Length | 110 mi (180 km)[1] |
| Basin size | 1,545 sq mi (4,000 km2) |
| Basin features | |
| Designation | |
| Official name | Inner Clyde Estuary |
| Designated | 5 September 2000 |
| Reference no. | 1036[2] |
The River Clyde (Scottish Gaelic: Abhainn Chluaidh, pronounced [ˈavɪɲ ˈxl̪ˠuəj]) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. The River Clyde estuary has an upper tidal limit located at the tidal weir next to Glasgow Green.[3] Just to the west of the port of Greenock, the channel of the river meets the Firth of Clyde at the Tail of the Bank.[4]
Historically, it was important to the British Empire because of its role in shipbuilding and trade.[5] To the Romans, it was Clota,[6] and in the early medieval Cumbric language, it was known as Clud or Clut. It was central to the Kingdom of Strathclyde (Teyrnas Ystrad Clut).[7]
- ^ "River Clyde". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ "Inner Clyde Estuary". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ "Glasgow, Glasgow Green, Tidal Weir | Canmore". canmore.org.uk.
- ^ "Tail of the Bank, mouth of the River Clyde". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Clyde Built: How Scotland Became a Global Shipbuilding Hub". History Hit.
- ^ "TM Places". www.trismegistos.org.
- ^ "Strathclyde | Celtic kingdom, Scotland, Britons | Britannica". www.britannica.com.