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The 'Thames Estuary' is a large estuary where the River Thames flows into the North Sea. The estuary is one of the largest inlets on the coast of Great Britain and parts of it constitute a major shipping route. It has the world's second largest tidal movement, where the water can rise by 4 metres moving at a speed of 8 miles per hour.
The term applies to the coast and the low-lying lands between the mouth of the River Stour on the Essex/Suffolk border and The Swale Estuary in north Kent; it extends up the river into London near Tower Bridge. It is now usually designated the 'Greater Thames Estuary': it is also a ''Natural Area'' under the auspices of English Nature.
Saltmarshes and mudflats dominate the area, although much of the length has man-made embankments where the land behind is now cultivated or used for grazing. Rising sea levels in places may make it necessary to reflood some of that land in the future however. Where there is rising land some urban development has taken place, examples being Sheerness and Gravesend in Kent, and Clacton-on-Sea in Essex. Joseph Conrad's (1906) contains a memorable description of the area as seen from the Thames.
One of the largest wind farms in the UK been developed in the estuary, located 8.5km north of Herne Bay. The farm contains 30 wind turbines generating a total of 82.4MW of electricity.
The inner Thames Estuary, now named Thames Gateway, on both banks of the river, has been designated as one of the principal development areas in Southern England by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and much development is planned for this area.
The form of speech of many of the people of the area, principally the accents of those from Kent and Essex, is often known as Estuary English.
Thames Estuary has recently been proposed as the site of a brand new airport to replace Heathrow. The new airport would be built on a man-made island and building would begin within the next eight years. So far nothing has been confirmed.

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See also

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See also

★ North Kent Marshes

★ Blackwater Estuary

★ Lower Thames Crossing

External links

★ The Thames Estuary Partnership

★ Countryside Agency definition of the Greater Thames Estuary

★ English Nature and the Greater Thames Estuary

★ Buglife's All of a Buzz in the Thames Gateway Project