Red River (Koner)

Not to be confused with the smaller Cornish watercourse which shares the same name which discharges into Mount's Bay west of Marazion on Cornwall's south coast.
Red River (Dowr Koner)
Country United Kingdom
Region Cornwall
Tributaries
 - right Tehidy Stream
Source
 - location Bolenowe
 - coordinates 50°11′32″N 5°15′20″W / 50.19222°N 5.25556°W
Mouth
 - location Godrevy, St Ives Bay
 - coordinates 50°13′42″N 5°22′59″W / 50.22833°N 5.38306°WCoordinates: 50°13′42″N 5°22′59″W / 50.22833°N 5.38306°W
Length 13 km (8 mi)
Map of the course of the Red River and the Tehidy Stream
The Red River near Menadarva Mill
The Red River at Godrevy beach

The Red River (Cornish: Dowr Koner)[1] is a small river in north-west Cornwall, UK which issues into St Ives Bay at Godrevy on Cornwall's Atlantic coast.[2] The Red River is about 8 miles (13 km) long and gets its name from the mineral deposits associated with tin mining which formerly coloured its water red. The river's gradient is relatively steep; the stream falls 170 metres (560 ft) from source to sea.

The Red River rises from springs near Bolenowe on the Carnmenellis granite batholith, an upland plateau. The river flows north, passing through a gorge in the granite ridge west of Carn Brea. Beyond the gorge, the river passes Tuckingmill, once a centre of mining and associated industries. At the hamlet of Combe, the Tehidy Stream joins the Red River which then turns west towards Godrevy.

The Red River's catchment area includes the major mining areas of Tuckingmill, Pool, and Camborne. Thus:

The Red River catchment has been subjected to mining and mineral working for many centuries, particularly during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It has been extensively tin streamed and its water used for mineral processing, both for use in the mineral separation processes and as a source of power. As a result of past mining activities the river has undergone many modifications and for significant parts of its course the river has been diverted, canalised, and, in places, embanked. Very little, if any, of the river can be considered to be in a truly natural condition.[3]

Since mining finished, the Red River has lost its distinctive colour and natural ecology and biodiversity are being re-established. The river gives its name to the Red River Inn public house (formerly The Pendarves Arms) in nearby Gwithian.

References

  1. ↑ Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF) : List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel. Cornish Language Partnership.
  2. ↑ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 Land's End ISBN 978-0-319-23148-7
  3. ↑ "Cornwall County Council Study of the Red River".

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Red River, North Cornwall.