Winterbourne (stream)
Encyclopedia
A winterbourne is a stream
or river
that is dry through the summer
months. A winterbourne is sometimes simply called a bourne, from the Anglo-Saxon
for a stream flowing from a spring, although this term can also be used for all-year water courses.
Winterbournes generally form in areas where there is chalk
(or other porous rock) downland
bordering clay
valley
s or vale
s. When it rains, the porous chalk holds water in its aquifer
, releasing the water at a steady rate. During dry seasons the water table
may fall below the level of the stream's bed, causing it to dry out.
Winterbournes occasionally give their names to settlements. Many of the UK's 'Winterbournes' are villages in Dorset
, such as Winterbourne Abbas
, Winterborne Monkton
, Zelston
, Houghton
, Whitchurch, and Compton. In Wiltshire
, north of Avebury
there are the villages of Winterbourne Monkton
and Winterbourne Bassett
; and in South Gloucestershire
there are the villages of Winterbourne
and Winterbourne Down.
Exploitation of chalk aquifers as a domestic water source in Britain
has had the effect of converting many streams and rivers into artificial winterbournes. This effect is controversial, and local campaigns have often been successful in reducing aquifer abstraction and reversing the effect. For an example, see the River Pang
in Berkshire
.
There is also a Winterbourne stream in an area of Lewes
, East Sussex
that is also called Winterbourne.
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
or river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
that is dry through the summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
months. A winterbourne is sometimes simply called a bourne, from the Anglo-Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
for a stream flowing from a spring, although this term can also be used for all-year water courses.
Winterbournes generally form in areas where there is chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
(or other porous rock) downland
Downland
A downland is an area of open chalk hills. This term is especially used to describe the chalk countryside in southern England. Areas of downland are often referred to as Downs....
bordering clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
s or vale
River Valley
River Valley is the name of an urban planning area within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.The River Valley Planning Area is defined by the region bounded by Orchard Boulevard, Devonshire Road and Eber Road to the north, Oxley Rise and Mohamed Sultan Road to the east, Martin...
s. When it rains, the porous chalk holds water in its aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
, releasing the water at a steady rate. During dry seasons the water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
may fall below the level of the stream's bed, causing it to dry out.
Winterbournes occasionally give their names to settlements. Many of the UK's 'Winterbournes' are villages in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, such as Winterbourne Abbas
Winterbourne Abbas
Winterborne Abbas is a village in south west Dorset, England, situated in a valley on the A35 road west of Dorchester. The village has a population of 295 .The Nine Stones stone circle lies just to the west of the village just to the south of the A35 road....
, Winterborne Monkton
Winterborne Monkton
Winterborne Monkton is a hamlet and civil parish in the south-west of the English county of Dorset.It is just off the A354 road, three miles south of Dorchester. The village has a population of 84 , and consists of a few houses and a church. The great hill fort of Maiden Castle stands within the...
, Zelston
Winterborne Zelston
Winterborne Zelston is a village in north Dorset, England. It is situated in a winterbourne valley on the A31 road eight miles south of Blandford Forum and ten miles north west of Poole...
, Houghton
Winterborne Houghton
Winterborne Houghton is a village in north Dorset, England. It is situated in a winterbourne valley on the Dorset Downs, five miles south west of Blandford Forum...
, Whitchurch, and Compton. In Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, north of Avebury
Avebury
Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles which is located around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, south west England. Unique amongst megalithic monuments, Avebury contains the largest stone circle in Europe, and is one of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain...
there are the villages of Winterbourne Monkton
Winterbourne Monkton
Winterbourne Monkton is a small village and former civil parish in Wiltshire, England, one mile north of the Avebury Stone Circle....
and Winterbourne Bassett
Winterbourne Bassett
Winterbourne Bassett is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire.-Local government:Although a civil parish Winterbourne Bassett does not have a parish council in its own right, it shares one with Broad Hinton - see Broad Hinton and Winterbourne Bassett...
; and in South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...
there are the villages of Winterbourne
Winterbourne, Gloucestershire
Winterbourne is a large village in South Gloucestershire, England. It had a population of 8,623 in the 2001 census. It sits as the centre of the Civil Parish of Winterbourne which encompasses the neighbouring communities of Winterbourne Down, Hambrook and Frenchay...
and Winterbourne Down.
Exploitation of chalk aquifers as a domestic water source in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
has had the effect of converting many streams and rivers into artificial winterbournes. This effect is controversial, and local campaigns have often been successful in reducing aquifer abstraction and reversing the effect. For an example, see the River Pang
River Pang
The River Pang is a small chalk stream river in the west of the English county of Berkshire, and a tributary of the River Thames. It runs for approximately from its source near the village of Compton to its confluence with the Thames in the village of Pangbourne.The river, and its water voles, are...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
.
There is also a Winterbourne stream in an area of Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
that is also called Winterbourne.
See also
- Arroyo (creek)Arroyo (creek)An arroyo , a Spanish word translated as brook, and also called a wash is usually a dry creek or stream bed—gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. Wadi is a similar term in Africa. In Spain, a rambla has a similar meaning to arroyo.-Types and processes:Arroyos...
- Chalk streamChalk streamChalk streams have characteristics which set them apart from watercourses associated with other rock types.Aside from those with an interest in the geological and ecological disciplines, the term chalk stream is most widely used among a small group of fly fishermen ,...
- Intermittent and ephemeral streams
- Perennial streamPerennial streamA perennial stream or perennial river is a stream or river that has continuous flow in parts of its bed all year round during years of normal rainfall. "Perennial" streams are contrasted with "intermittent" streams which normally cease flowing for weeks or months each year, and with "ephemeral"...
, a stream or river that flows all year round - WadiWadiWadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...