Back Scene ANG شانون Arabic نهر شانون ARZ Ríu Shannon AST Şannon (çay) AZ شانون چایی AZB Шанан BE Шанън (река) Bulgarian An tSionainn BR Riu Shannon Catalan
| River Shannon | |
|---|---|
 River Shannon from Drumsna bridge, County Leitrim | |
 River Shannon watershed (Interactive map) | |
| Native name | Abhainn na Sionainne (Irish) |
| Location | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Counties | Cavan, Leitrim, Longford, Roscommon, Westmeath, Offaly, Tipperary, Galway, Clare, Limerick, Kerry |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Shannon Pot |
| • location | Glangevlin, Cuilcagh Mountain, County Cavan |
| • coordinates | 54°14′06″N 7°55′12″W / 54.235°N 7.92°W |
| • elevation | 100 |
| Mouth | Shannon Estuary |
• location | Limerick |
• coordinates | 52°39′25″N 8°39′36″W / 52.657°N 8.66°W |
| Length | 360 kilometres (220 mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • maximum | 300 cubic metres per second (11,000 cu ft/s) |
 | |
The River Shannon (Irish: an tSionainn, Abhainn na Sionainne or archaic an tSionna[1]) is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at 360 km (224 miles) in length,[2] is the longest river in the British Isles.[3][4] It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of 16,900 km2 (6,525 sq mi),[5] – approximately one fifth of the area of Ireland.
Known as an important waterway since antiquity, the Shannon first appeared in maps by the Graeco-Egyptian geographer Ptolemy (c. 100 – c. 170 AD). The river flows generally southwards from the Shannon Pot in County Cavan before turning west and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean through the 102.1 km (63.4 mi) long Shannon Estuary.[6] Limerick city stands at the point where the river water meets the sea water of the estuary. The Shannon is tidal east of Limerick as far as the base of the Ardnacrusha dam.[7] The Shannon divides the west of Ireland (principally the province of Connacht) from the east and south (Leinster and most of Munster; County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception.) The river represents a major physical barrier between east and west, with fewer than thirty-five crossing points between the village of Dowra in the north and Limerick city in the south.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Primary Seniors – Mountains, Rivers & Lakes". Ordnance Survey Ireland. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ Feeley, Hugh B.; Bruen, Michael; Bullock, Craig; Christie, Mike; Kelly, Fiona; Kelly-Quinn, Mary (2017). ESManage Project: Irish Freshwater Resources and Assessment of Ecosystem Services Provision. Vol. Report No. 207. EPA. pp. Section 3.1.2. ISBN 978-1-84095-699-3.
- ^ Dobrzynski, Jan (2016). "Introduction". River Severn: From Source to Sea. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445649054. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ "Chapter 2: Study Area" (PDF). Biology and Management of European Eel (Anguilla anguilla, L) in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
- ^ "Facts". Ordnance Survey Ireland. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ "Going through Ardnacrusha" (PDF). Inland Waterways News (Summer 2001 – Volume 28 Number 2). Inland Waterways Association of Ireland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2014.