River Wear

The Wear is a river in northeast England. It starts in Wearhead, County Durham and opens up into the North Sea at Sunderland.

Wear
The Wear flows past Durham Castle and Cathedral, beneath Framwellgate Bridge and over a weir.
Map of the Wear
Location
Country	England
County	•County Durham (historic and ceremonial) •Tyne and Wear
Major settlements	•Wolsingham •Bishop Auckland •Willington •Durham •Chester-le-Street •Washington •Sunderland
Physical characteristics
Source
- location	Wearhead
- coordinates	54.750°N 2.2225°W / 54.750; -2.2225
- elevation	340 m (1,120 ft)
Mouth
- location	North Sea
- coordinates	54.916°N 1.3577°W / 54.916; -1.3577
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	96 km (60 mi)

Industrial past

Much of the River Wear shows the history of the Industrial Revolution. Its upper end runs through lead mining country, until this gives way to coal seams of the Durham coalfield for the rest of its length. As a result of limestone quarrying, lead mining and coal mining, the Wear valley was amongst the first places to see the development of railways. The Weardale Railway continues to run occasional services between Stanhope and Wolsingham.

Geology

The upland area of Upper Weardale has a flora which survives from the end of the last Ice Age. After the Ice Age, the Wear valley became thickly forested. During the Neolithic period and increasingly in the Bronze Age, the forests were progressively cleared for agriculture.

References

• Natural Environment Research Council, Institute of Geological Sciences, 1971, "British Regional Geology: Northern England" Fourth Edition, HMSO, London.
• Johnson, G.A.L. & Hickling, G. (eds.), 1972, "Geology of Durham County", Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne, Vol.41, No.1.
• 'Wear River', "Encyclopaedia Britannica", 17th Edition, 1990.