The Carnon River () is a heavily polluted river in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, England, United Kingdom.
It starts in
Chacewater
Chacewater () is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, UK. It is situated approximately east of Redruth. The hamlets of Carnhot, Cox Hill, Creegbrawse, Hale Mills, Jolly's Bottom, Salem, Saveock, Scorrier, Todpool, Twelve ...
. Both
Trewedna Water and
River Kennall flow into the Carnon before it merges with Tallack's Creek to become
Restronguet Creek
Restronguet Creek is a tide, tidal ria in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is a tributary of Carrick Roads, the estuary of the River Fal, and is situated approximately four miles (6.5 km) south of Truro and three miles (5 km) nor ...
, which eventually flows into
the English Channel at the mouth of
Carrick Roads
Carrick Roads (, meaning "rock anchorage") is the estuary of the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall in England. It joins the English Channel at its southern end near Falmouth.
Geography
It is a large flooded valley, or ria, created aft ...
.
The
Nebra sky disc
The Nebra sky disc (, ) is a bronze disc of around diameter and a weight of , having a blue-green patina and inlaid with gold symbols. These symbols are interpreted generally as the Sun or full moon, a lunar crescent, and stars, including a clust ...
, a gold-decorated bronze disc found in Germany and dated to the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
, contains both gold and tin from the Carnon valley.
There was also an antler pick discovered, along with some other artefacts in 1790. In 2016, the pick was dated to be from the Early Bronze Age.
In 1992, the river was hit by a major pollution incident, when over 45 million litres of
contaminated water
Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. W ...
from the closed
Wheal Jane
Wheal Jane is a disused tin mine near Baldhu and Chacewater in West Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The area itself consisted of a large number of mines.
History
Wheal Jane was probably seriously worked for tin from the mid-18th century. ...
mine was released by the collapse of an
adit
An adit (from Latin ''aditus'', entrance) or stulm
is a horizontal or nearly horizontal passage to an underground mine.
Miners can use adits for access, drainage, ventilation, and extracting minerals at the lowest convenient level. Adits are a ...
, colouring the river water red.
A treatment works has since been installed at Wheal Jane to intercept the contaminated water and treat it to remove suspended metals and restore a neutral pH.
See also
*
List of rivers in Cornwall
*
List of rivers of England
This is a list of rivers of England, organised geographically and taken anti-clockwise around the English coast where the various rivers discharge into the surrounding seas, from the Solway Firth on the Scottish border to the Welsh Dee on the W ...
References
External links
*
*
Rivers of Cornwall
{{Cornwall-geo-stub