River Rhondda
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The River Rhondda () is a
river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in
South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...
with two major tributaries, ''Rhondda Fawr'' (meaning ''big Rhondda'') and ''Rhondda Fach'' (meaning ''little Rhondda'').


Description

The river has two major
tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...
, the ''Rhondda Fawr'' and the ''Rhondda Fach'' (respectively, the "big" and the "little" Rhondda). Despite these names, both tributaries are of similar length. Both valleys display the U-shape cross-sections typical of glaciated valleys, having been eroded during successive
ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
s. They cut deeply into the thick South Wales Coal measures which comprise
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
s and
mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from ''shale'' by its lack of fissility.Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology.'' New York, New York, ...
s and
coal seam Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...
s of
Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...
age. The whole form of the river and its surrounding urbanisation has been dominated by
coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
and the communities that grew up to exploit the rich
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
seams. Much of the valley has suffered severe
subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope mov ...
because of the removal of coal from beneath the valley floor. The houses and streets have subsided with the result that river levels are, in parts, higher than the surrounding houses. In order to contain the river and prevent flooding, walls have been built, sometimes across the ends of streets - these are known as "The Rhondda walls".


Course

The ''Rhondda Fawr'' has its source on the eastern side of Craig y Llyn south of Llyn Fawr in a spring called Ffynnon y Gwalciau at an elevation of about 544m OD. The main head stream, Nant Carn Moesen (or Nant Carfoesen) runs down a plateau slope for about a mile and drops steeply, joining with the Nant Garreg-lwyd and the Nant Melyn to form the Rhondda.Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 scale Explorer map sheet 166 ''Rhondda & Merthyr Tydfil/Merthyr Tudful'' The combined waters then continue descending sharply through a mountain gorge to the foot of Pen Pych.Lewis (1959), pg 1. The river runs through Blaenrhondda where it is joined by the Nant y Gwair, and runs down the Rhondda Valley, (). The river then passes through a string of mining towns and villages including
Treherbert Treherbert () is a village and community (Wales), community situated at the head of the Rhondda Fawr valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically part of Glamorgan. Treherbert is the upper mo ...
,
Treorchy Treorchy (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of t ...
, Pentre,
Ton Pentre Ton Pentre () is a village in the Rhondda, Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically part of Glamorgan, Ton Pentre, a former industrial coal mining village, is a district of the comm ...
,
Ystrad Rhondda Ystrad (also known as Ystrad Rhondda or Ystrad-Rhondda) is a village and community (and electoral ward) in the Rhondda Fawr valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Description As a community and ward Ystrad contains the neighbouring district of Gell ...
,
Llwynypia Llwynypia () is a village and community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Tonypandy in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. Before 1850 a lightly populated rural farming area, Llwynypia experienced a population boom bet ...
, Tonypandy (joined by the Nant Clydach), Dinas and Porth where it joins its sister tributary. The ''Rhondda Fach'' rises about a mile to the east of the source of the Rhondda Fawr on the hills above Blaenrhondda in a marshy area between Mynydd Beili Glas and Mynydd Bwllfa at an elevation of 489m OD.Lewis (1959), pg 2. The fledgling river is first contained in the Lluest-wen Reservoir before flowing down into Maerdy and then on through Ferndale, Tylorstown, Ynyshir to its
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
at Porth. The River Rhondda flows on past Trehafod to reach its confluence with the River Taff at
Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...
.


Improving water quality

The mining industry had a catastrophic impact on the quality of the river with all the mine waters being pumped straight into the river with no treatment. For very long periods, probably more than a century, the river was continuously black with coal solids and little if anything could live in the river. This was compounded by the very basic
sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewerage, sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged fro ...
disposal arrangements which saw all the sewage discharged into the same river. Not until the 1970s was there real investment made in improving the
sewage treatment Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...
arrangements. Since the early 1970s the river has been steadily improving in quality largely due to the closure of all the coal mines and through the investment in sewerage and sewage treatment.


Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhondda River Rivers of Rhondda Cynon Taf