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River Dee, Wales

The River Dee is a 70 mile (110 km) long river, which rises in the hills above Llanuwchilyn in Merioneth (Gwynedd) Wales, then passes through Bala Lake, over the man-made Horseshoe Falls and through Llangollen.

East of Llangollen, Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, of 1805, carries the Shropshire Union Canal 120 feet overhead.

At Farndon the river crosses into England and then passes through Chester.

Below Chester, the river flows along an artificial channel, excavated when Sealand and Shotton were reclaimed from the estuary.

This 'canalised' section runs in a straight line for five miles and passes beneath two road bridges at Queensferry. The first is a modern fixed cable-stayed bridge, the second, the Queen Victoria Jubilee Bridge, is of the rolling bascule type.

A mile further on is the Hawarden railway bridge, originally constructed as a swing bridge but now never opened, carries the Chester - Wrexham line over the river.

The name derives from the Celtic name for the river (Afon Dyfrdwy).

See also

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