Living Uplands


Natural History of Upper Teesdale

8 - Freshwater Life

Without the River Tees there would be no Teesdale and so, whilst much of the attention in this book is focussed on the plant and animal life in the fields and fells, we should not ignore either the river or the numerous tributary streams that feed it. Cow Green Reservoir, too, plays an important part in the story of Upper Teesdale, not just because of the ways in which it has altered the landscape and habitats in the upper valley, but also because the decision to impound the river precipitated many significant ecological studies and, ironically, raised the profile of the Teesdale rarities beyond a small band of botanical cognoscenti.

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