page_title: River Tamar
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: River Tamar / Economy
caption_attribution_description: English: Brunel's Bridge and the road bridge - Saltash
context_page_description: The Tamar is a river in south west England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall. The area is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities.
  The Tamar's source is less than 6 km from the north Cornish coast, but it flows southward and its course runs across the peninsula to the south coast. The total length of the river is 61 miles. At its mouth, the Tamar flows into the Hamoaze before entering Plymouth Sound, a bay of the English Channel. Tributaries of the river include the rivers Inny, Ottery, Kensey and Lynher on the Cornish side, and the Deer and Tavy on the Devon side.
  The name Tamar was mentioned by Ptolemy in the second century in his Geography. The name is said to mean "Great Water." The Tamar is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed by some to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.
  The seventh century Ravenna Cosmography mentions a Roman settlement named Tamaris, but it is unclear to which of those towns along the Tamar this refers. Plymouth, Launceston, and the Roman fort at Calstock have been variously suggested.
context_section_description: Rocks around the edge of Dartmoor were mineralised by fluids driven by the heat of the earth's core, which gave rise to ores containing tin, copper, tungsten, lead and other minerals in the Valley. The medieval estate of Cotehele, owned by the Edgcumbe family, was a significant producer of silver for the Royal Mint. During the industrial revolution, there was significant mining activity near the river, between Gunnislake and Weir Quay. During this period, the Tamar was an important river for shipping copper from ports such as Morwellham Quay, Calstock and New Quay (Devon) to south Wales where it would be smelted. The valley forms district A10i of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape. The river has long been famous for the quality of its salmon whilst the valley was known nationally for the high quality, and early, soft fruit and market gardens sheltered by its steeply winding slopes.
caption: The Royal Albert Bridge and the Tamar Bridge at Saltash.
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