The River Cam is a tributary of the River Yeo

River Yeo (South Somerset)

The River Yeo, also known as the River Ivel or River Gascoigne, is a tributary of the River Parrett in north Dorset and south Somerset, England....

 in the south of Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, England.

The Cam rises east of Yarlington

Yarlington

Yarlington is a village and civil parish, near the source of the River Cam, in the English county of Somerset.Administratively, Yarlington shares a parish council with nearby North Cadbury and forms part of the district of South Somerset....

 (51.001721°N 2.636343°W). It flows south west past North Cadbury

North Cadbury

North Cadbury is a village west of Wincanton in the River Cam in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It shares its parish with nearby Yarlington and includes the village of Galhampton, which got its name from the settlement of the rent-paying peasants, and the hamlet of...

, Sparkford

Sparkford

Sparkford is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Weston Bampfylde....

, Queen Camel

Queen Camel

Queen Camel is a village and civil parish, on the River Cam and the A359 road, in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It is about north of Yeovil. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 926. The parish includes the hamlet of Wales...

 and West Camel

West Camel

West Camel is a village and civil parish in south Somerset, England, about north of the town of Yeovil. Situated either side of the River Cam it lies just south of the A303 and has a population of 490...

, and joins the Yeo near Yeovilton

Yeovilton

Yeovilton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated east of Ilchester, north of Yeovil, in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of approximately 670....

 (51.001721°N 2.636343°W).

Other tributaries include the stream through Blackford

Blackford, Somerset

Blackford is a village in Somerset, England, situated beside the A303 road, south west of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. There are two other places called Blackford in Somerset — one is a village near Wedmore, the other a tiny hamlet between Porlock and Minehead.It is part of the...

 and Compton Pauncefoot

Compton Pauncefoot

Compton Pauncefoot is a village in Somerset, England, situated beside the A303 road, south west of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 130. The civil parish of Blackford and Compton Pauncefoot joins the village with Blackford and therefore population is...

 (B&CP) and benefited from works in the 1980s to the riverbanks in Blackford to help keep the water moving. Flooding is more rare than previously in Blackford as a result. This tributary stream has its headwaters

Source (river or stream)

The source or headwaters of a river or stream is the place from which the water in the river or stream originates.-Definition:There is no universally agreed upon definition for determining a stream's source...

 in the hills around B&CP together with a number of springs. The main waters come from three primary sources: Maperton

Maperton

Maperton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south west of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 150. However this number includes Elliscombe House care home which alone has an average of 40 residents.-History:The name of the village...

, Quarry Hill and Sigwells Hill. The first two combine in Blackford around the Crossroads/Hollow and further springs contribute at several points all the way through both villages. The river then travels under the A303

A303 road

The A303 is a 92-mile long trunk road in England. It is the main road between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon. The M3, the A303 and the A30 together make up one of the main routes from London to South West England, running from London to Land's End in Cornwall...

 to join the Yarlington headwaters.

The River Cam flows onto the Royal Naval Station at Yeovilton where it joins the Yeo, which in turn flows west to the south of Yeovilton and through the town of Ilchester

Ilchester

Ilchester is a village and civil parish, situated on the River Yeo or Ivel, five miles north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset. The parish, which includes the village of Sock Dennis and the old parish of Northover, has a population of 2,021...

. The river course continues to the west and at Langport

Langport

Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The town has a population of 1,067. The parish includes the hamlets of Bowdens and Combe...

 becomes the River Parrett

River Parrett

The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset...

.

In 2009 the river burst its banks at West Camel following flash flooding.