The River Don () 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 north-east

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It rises in the

Grampians The Grampian Mountains () is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian range extends northeast to so ...

and flows eastwards, through

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. The Don passes through Alford,

Kemnay Kemnay may refer to: * Kemnay, Manitoba, a community in Canada *Kemnay, Aberdeenshire Kemnay (Scottish Gaelic language, Gaelic: ''Camnaidh'') is a village west of Aberdeen in Garioch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History The village name ''Kemna ...

Inverurie Inverurie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Uraidh'' or ''Inbhir Uaraidh'', 'mouth of the River Ury') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Ury and River Don, Aberdeenshire, Don, about north-west of Aberdeen. Geography ...

, Kintore, and

Dyce Dyce () is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, situated on the River Don about northwest of the city centre. It is best known as the location of Aberdeen Airport. History Dyce is the site of an early medieval church dedicated to the 8th centu ...

. Its main

tributary 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 they ...

, the

River Ury The River Urie (or River Ury) () is a small river in northeastern Scotland situated in the The Garioch, Garioch area of Aberdeenshire (unitary authority area), Aberdeenshire. Its origins are close to Bennachie, approximately 25 miles to the north ...

, joins at

Course of the river

The Don rises in the peat flat beneath ''Druim na Feithe'', and in the shadow of Glen Avon, before flowing quietly past the ice-age

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

and down to Cock Bridge, below the picturesque site of the Delnadamph Lodge, demolished in 1988. Several streams, the Dhiver, Feith Bhait, Meoir Veannaich, Cock Burn and the Allt nan Aighean merge to form the embryonic Don. Water from the north of Brown Cow Hill () drains into the Don, while water from the west side runs into the

River Spey The River Spey () is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom and the third longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is an important location for the traditions of salmon fishing an ...

and that from the south side into the

Dee Dee or DEE may refer to: People Surname * Dee, an alternate spelling of the Welsh surname Day * Dee, a romanization of several Chinese surnames, including: ** Those listed at Di (surname) ** Some Hokkien pronunciations of the surname Li () ...

. The Don follows a circuitous route eastwards past

Corgarff Castle Corgarff Castle is located slightly west of the village of Corgarff, in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. It stands by the Lecht road, which crosses the pass between Strathdon and Tomintoul. Life The castle was built around 1530 by the Elph ...

, through

Strathdon Strathdon (; Gaelic: ''Srath Dheathain'') is an area in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is situated in the strath of the River Don, 45 miles west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. The main village in the strath is Bellabeg, although it was original ...

and the Howe of Alford before entering the North Sea just north of

Old Aberdeen Old Aberdeen is part of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It retains the sta ...

. The chief tributaries are Conrie Water, Ernan Water, Water of Carvie, Water of Nochty, Deskry Water, Water of Buchat, Kindy Burn,

Bucks Burn The Bucks Burn is a stream in Aberdeen which flows into the River Don. It lends its name to the former town of Bucksburn which is now part of Aberdeen City council area Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is th ...

, Mossat Burn, Leochel Burn and the

History

The river was recorded by the 2nd century AD cosmographer

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

(d. ''c'' 168) as Δηουανα ''Devona'', meaning 'goddess', an indication the river was once a sacred one. Near Kintore, not distant from the Don, is the

Deers Den Deer's Den is an archaeological site at Kintore, Scotland in Aberdeenshire. The site has mesolithic remains, Iron Age artefacts and is a known Roman Camp. History The area includes evidence of settlement dating back to the Bronze Age, with ...

Roman Camp ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

. In 1750 the Don's lower reaches were channelled towards the sea, moving its confluence with the sea northwards.

Hydrology

River levels and flows have been measured along the course of the Don at a number of gauging stations since 1969. The lowest of these is the gauge at Parkhill near

, with a mean flow of . The station measures 97% of the total

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...

of the river. Prior to 2016 the maximum levels and flows were recorded during the floods of November 2002, with peak levels on the 22nd of that month reaching at Haughton near Inverurie, and at Parkhill. These were exceeded in January 2016 during the 2015–16 floods, when levels at Haughton reached , whilst those at Parkhill were over a metre higher than previously at . The resultant flooding forced residents along the river to evacuate their homes, in some cases with the help of local rescue teams. Areas affected included Port Elphinstone, Kintore, and Donside in Aberdeen where a number of residential care homes were evacuated as a precaution.

Economy

Strathdon attracts visitors for

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

and

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

fishing as well as its

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

s and scenery. A 100kW hydro scheme at

Tillydrone Tillydrone is an area of Aberdeen, Scotland. Lying north of the city centre and slightly north-west of Old Aberdeen, it is roughly bounded by the River Don, Aberdeenshire, River Don, St Machar Drive, and the main Aberdeen-Inverness Line, Aberdee ...

is on the former site of the Donside Papermill.

References

External links