| Thames River | |
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North Branch of the Thames, just upstream from the confluence with the Avon River near Stratford, Ontario
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| Name origin: after the River Thames in England | |
| Country | Canada |
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| Province | Ontario |
| City | London |
| Source | |
| - location | Near Tavistock |
| Mouth | Lake Saint Clair |
| - location | Lighthouse Cove |
| - elevation | 173 m (568 ft) [1] |
| - coordinates | [2] |
| Length | 273 km (170 mi) [3] |
| Basin | 5,825 km2 (2,249 sq mi) [3] |
| Discharge | for Chatham |
| - average | 52.9 m3/s (1,868 cu ft/s) [4] |
| - max | 1,090 m3/s (38,493 cu ft/s) |
| - min | 8.25 m3/s (291 cu ft/s) |
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Location of the mouth of the Thames River in Ontario.
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The Thames River is located in southwestern Ontario, Canada.
The Thames flows west 273 kilometres (170 mi)[3] through southwestern Ontario, through the cities of Woodstock, London and Chatham to Lighthouse Cove on Lake St. Clair. Its drainage basin is 5,825 square kilometres (2,249 sq mi).[3]
Called Askunessippi (Anishinaabe language: Eshkani-ziibi, "the antlered river") by the Odawa and Ojibwa inhabitants, who together with the Neutrals, have lived in the area since before Europeans arrived, the river was named after the River Thames in England by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1793.
Much of the Thames is surrounded by deciduous Carolinian forests, although much of this forest has been removed to permit agriculture and other forms of development. Three separate dams are used to control the seasonal flooding this river could cause: Wildwood Dam, Pittock Dam & the Fanshawe Dam.
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The Thames River has three main source branches—the North Thames, South Thames, and Middle Thames Rivers. These are also known as the North Branch, South Branch, and Middle Branch. The South Thames is the main stem Thames River and sometimes simply called the Thames.[5][6]
The North and South branches on the upper part of the river flow through valleys created during the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age. The North and South branches meet at London; the University of Western Ontario is located on the North Branch. Downriver from London, the lower part of the river flows through a shallow plain of sand and clay, with an average depth of 4 feet (1.2 m). The lower Thames flows through Delaware, Chatham, Thamesville, as well as Chippewa and Oneida First Nations settlements. Tributaries of the Thames include the Avon River, Dingman Creek, Jeanettes Creek, McGregor Creek, Medway Creek, Pottersburg Creek, Stoney Creek, and Waubuno Creek.
The river was the location of an important battle of the War of 1812. The Battle of the Thames (also known as the Battle of Moraviantown) was fought on October 5, 1813, between American General William Henry Harrison and British General Henry Proctor, along with Proctor's ally Tecumseh. Chief Tecumseh was killed in the battle.
On August 14, 2000, the Thames was designated a Canadian Heritage River.
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