Thirlmere
An upland lake in Cumbria, England / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Thirlmere?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria and the English Lake District. The Helvellyn ridge lies to the east of Thirlmere. To the west of Thirlmere are a number of fells; for instance, Armboth Fell and Raven Crag both of which give views of the lake and of Helvellyn beyond.
Thirlmere | |
---|---|
Location | Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England |
Coordinates | 54°32′N 3°04′W |
Lake type | Reservoir |
Primary inflows | Launchy Gill, Dob Gill, Wyth Burn, Birkside Gill |
Primary outflows | Thirlmere Aqueduct (engineered off-take); St John's Beck (natural) |
Basin countries | England |
Max. length | 6.05 km (3.76 mi) |
Max. width | 0.7 km (0.43 mi) |
Surface area | 3.25 km2 (1.25 sq mi) |
Max. depth | 40 metres (131 ft) |
Shore length1 | 15 km (9.3 mi) |
Surface elevation | 178 m (584 ft) |
Islands | 2 |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
It runs roughly south to north and is bordered on the eastern side for much of its length by the A591 road and on the western side by a minor road. It occupies the site of a former natural lake: this had a fordable waist so narrow that it was (and is) sometimes regarded as two lakes. In the 19th century Manchester Corporation constructed a dam at the northern end, raising the water level, flooding the valley bottom, and creating a reservoir to provide the growing industrial city of Manchester with water supplies via the 96 mile-long Thirlmere Aqueduct.
The reservoir and the aqueduct still provide water to the Manchester area, but under the Water Act 1973 ownership passed to the North West Water Authority; as a result of subsequent privatisation and amalgamation they (and the catchment area surrounding the reservoir) are now owned and managed by United Utilities, a private water and wastewater company.