River Clyde

The River Clyde ( ; Scottish Gaelic: Abhainn Chluaidh, pronounced [ˈavɪɲ ˈxl̪ˠuəj]) is a major river of western Scotland and the third-longest in the country at about 170 kilometres (110 mi) in length. Its river network extends to 4,244 km and drains a basin of 1,903 km2, expanding to 3,854 km2 when the Clyde estuary system with the Kelvin, White Cart, Black Cart and Leven is included. Around 1.79 million people, 33.8% of Scotland's population, live within this catchment. The river rises in the Lowther Hills and flows north-west through South Lanarkshire and Glasgow before deepening into the Firth of Clyde past the Tail of the Bank off Greenock. Shoals and shallows meant only small vessels could use the river, and in 1688 Glasgow merchants built Port Glasgow 5.4 kilometres (3.4 mi) upriver for seagoing ships. From the late 18th century the upper estuary and river through Glasgow were systematically engineered using groynes, longitudinal training walls and continuous dredging, and by removing rocky obstructions such as a large part of the Elderslie Rock. This enabled ocean-going access and supported Glasgow's rise as a world centre of shipbuilding and marine engineering in the 19th and 20th centuries. Greenock Ocean Terminal brought container shipping to the Clyde in 1969, and most commercial deep-water functions migrated down the estuary, while the upper river corridor has seen major regeneration in Glasgow. Environmental quality has improved from historic industrial lows, though legacy contaminants and periodic low-oxygen episodes in the outer firth have been reported.