London would not be london. It would not have become the main city of england. Potentially maybe southampton or portsmouth would have.
Why is this so visually disturbing
I can’t say I’ve ever thought about this. But now you’ve said it, that would be pretty neat!
The labels are pretty good too, definitely a fun down resort on the east, and an AONB in the main delta
Big question is; would that be Essex, Kent, or a whole new county!
I think it did once, but that was flooded at the end of the ice age, and if you go far enough back in time the whole area was actually a delta of the Rhine and some other rivers flowing from Europe
Shit derelict seaside resort used to be solid before it went to shit
Ah, the Poo Bayou. Don’t try the gumbo.
Area Of Arse Biscuits?
I quite like that you’ve gone to the effort of changing Brightlingsea to Brightlingdelta as well
It’s an interesting question.
Whether a river develops an estuary or a bird’s foot delta as it reaches the sea is based on a relationship between the amount of sediment carried downstream by the river, and the size of the tides in the adjoining ocean.
To give an example: The Mississippi River runs for almost 2,500 miles through the North American continent, picking up an immense amount of sediment along the way. It empties into the Gulf of Mexico, a body of water that has a relatively small tidal range: Generally about 0.5 meters. Lots of suspended mud running into the sea, with very little tidal motion to “scour” the mouth of the river clear. Result: A massive constantly shifting and growing “Delta.”
By way of contrast: The Thames runs about 215 miles, and flows into the English Channel, where there is a tidal range of between 4 and 5 meters. Any sediment carried by the Thames is regularly scoured away by the massive flow of water in and out. Result: A broad estuary.
As noted elsewhere: London wouldn’t have become London if the Thames had a Delta. The Romans wouldn’t have built a city 50 miles inland from a muddy, shifting delta. The tides that made it easy to get boats propelled by oars or sails so far inland and upriver wouldn’t have let a delta form. And deltas tended to be decidedly unhealthy places. In a time when the link between mosquitoes and malaria was not well-understood, the Romans knew enough not to build large settlements in such places.
(Sorry for mixing my customary miles and my metric metres. Its just the way I remember those particular numbers.)
Nice try. We are not going to do your geography homework for you
Could start farming rice there after the planet warms up a tad bit more.
Slow day at work?
You missed out Southend-in-your-Delta
London would probably develop on the delta itself as opposed to along the Thames – a bit like Alexandria in Egypt or New Orleans in the USA.
Either that, or one of the towns in Essex or Kent would have grown much larger than in our timeline to take advantage of sea trade and being the “gateway” to England via the Thames.
Petyr Baelish ass home location
Whats Leeds Castle doing down there
But what about the Medway towns??
Yeah you’re quite right, I’m totally with you.
*If my grandmother had wheels she would’ve been a bike.*
Would it have a Butlins?
r/worldjerking would LOVE this
The Feelgoods clung very much to the notion of the Thames delta (esp. around Canvey), giving rise as it did to a number of blues-rooted acts.
I think Colchester would have grown to become the capital, absorbing Clacton or Harwich (or eventually both)
Even the thought of more Ess*x makes me sick.
Why type of autism is this
You’re missing the airport.
London would probably be in the Humber if the Thames had a delta like this.
We’d wear hats on our feet and hamburgers would eat people.
Looking like something out of Game of Thrones – the region of Dragon Wing
Hehe
Braintree.
Wouldn’t that create a giant canvy island?
For Super-Essex!
Would still be less webbed than the average foot in Norfolk
The tidal range comparison really puts it into perspective, London’s entire history might’ve been rewritten if the Thames had a delta instead of that scoured estuary. Can you imagine trying to navigate those swampy, malaria-ridden marshes where the docks are now? Nature really nailed the “location, location, location” thing for the Romans.
As an aside, is the wash a failed delta? Or something else.
Be a great place for an airport!
Is this the new “Roman empire” question? 🤣
Roman London would be pretty much where it always was, as it represents the lowest bridging point with the technology of the time. (Although they did also use ship access to London, the main harbours for the Romans were Dover and Chichester).
Winchester would have been the capital of Wessex, and be a a historical footnote in the history of capitals as it is today.
Once Britain gets serious about colonial navies, Liverpool, Bristol, and later Plymouth, would be the naval hubs. Given that navigating a delta is tricky for bigger ships, it is likely that the London docks would never have been developed, and instead a harbour town built at the coast of the delta, perhaps opposite Margate. River barges, and later, rail, would then transport goods to London. This would likely also have shifted the development of London, with urban expansion moving to be nearer this harbour town.
If you are interested in land east of London, look up the Dogger Bank, Doggerland, and the events thought to leading to its demise. Absolutely fascinating.
It’d be a hotbed of Blues. I’d love to hear Howlin’ Pigeon’s Thames Delta blues live album from 1977.
40 comments
London would not be london. It would not have become the main city of england. Potentially maybe southampton or portsmouth would have.
Why is this so visually disturbing
I can’t say I’ve ever thought about this. But now you’ve said it, that would be pretty neat!
The labels are pretty good too, definitely a fun down resort on the east, and an AONB in the main delta
Big question is; would that be Essex, Kent, or a whole new county!
I think it did once, but that was flooded at the end of the ice age, and if you go far enough back in time the whole area was actually a delta of the Rhine and some other rivers flowing from Europe
Shit derelict seaside resort used to be solid before it went to shit
Ah, the Poo Bayou. Don’t try the gumbo.
Area Of Arse Biscuits?
I quite like that you’ve gone to the effort of changing Brightlingsea to Brightlingdelta as well
It’s an interesting question.
Whether a river develops an estuary or a bird’s foot delta as it reaches the sea is based on a relationship between the amount of sediment carried downstream by the river, and the size of the tides in the adjoining ocean.
To give an example: The Mississippi River runs for almost 2,500 miles through the North American continent, picking up an immense amount of sediment along the way. It empties into the Gulf of Mexico, a body of water that has a relatively small tidal range: Generally about 0.5 meters. Lots of suspended mud running into the sea, with very little tidal motion to “scour” the mouth of the river clear. Result: A massive constantly shifting and growing “Delta.”
By way of contrast: The Thames runs about 215 miles, and flows into the English Channel, where there is a tidal range of between 4 and 5 meters. Any sediment carried by the Thames is regularly scoured away by the massive flow of water in and out. Result: A broad estuary.
As noted elsewhere: London wouldn’t have become London if the Thames had a Delta. The Romans wouldn’t have built a city 50 miles inland from a muddy, shifting delta. The tides that made it easy to get boats propelled by oars or sails so far inland and upriver wouldn’t have let a delta form. And deltas tended to be decidedly unhealthy places. In a time when the link between mosquitoes and malaria was not well-understood, the Romans knew enough not to build large settlements in such places.
(Sorry for mixing my customary miles and my metric metres. Its just the way I remember those particular numbers.)
Nice try. We are not going to do your geography homework for you
Could start farming rice there after the planet warms up a tad bit more.
Slow day at work?
You missed out Southend-in-your-Delta
London would probably develop on the delta itself as opposed to along the Thames – a bit like Alexandria in Egypt or New Orleans in the USA.
Either that, or one of the towns in Essex or Kent would have grown much larger than in our timeline to take advantage of sea trade and being the “gateway” to England via the Thames.
Petyr Baelish ass home location
Whats Leeds Castle doing down there
But what about the Medway towns??
Yeah you’re quite right, I’m totally with you.
*If my grandmother had wheels she would’ve been a bike.*
Would it have a Butlins?
r/worldjerking would LOVE this
The Feelgoods clung very much to the notion of the Thames delta (esp. around Canvey), giving rise as it did to a number of blues-rooted acts.
I think Colchester would have grown to become the capital, absorbing Clacton or Harwich (or eventually both)
Even the thought of more Ess*x makes me sick.
Why type of autism is this
You’re missing the airport.
London would probably be in the Humber if the Thames had a delta like this.
We’d wear hats on our feet and hamburgers would eat people.
Looking like something out of Game of Thrones – the region of Dragon Wing
Hehe
Braintree.
Wouldn’t that create a giant canvy island?
For Super-Essex!
Would still be less webbed than the average foot in Norfolk
The tidal range comparison really puts it into perspective, London’s entire history might’ve been rewritten if the Thames had a delta instead of that scoured estuary. Can you imagine trying to navigate those swampy, malaria-ridden marshes where the docks are now? Nature really nailed the “location, location, location” thing for the Romans.
As an aside, is the wash a failed delta? Or something else.
Be a great place for an airport!
Is this the new “Roman empire” question? 🤣
Roman London would be pretty much where it always was, as it represents the lowest bridging point with the technology of the time. (Although they did also use ship access to London, the main harbours for the Romans were Dover and Chichester).
Winchester would have been the capital of Wessex, and be a a historical footnote in the history of capitals as it is today.
Once Britain gets serious about colonial navies, Liverpool, Bristol, and later Plymouth, would be the naval hubs. Given that navigating a delta is tricky for bigger ships, it is likely that the London docks would never have been developed, and instead a harbour town built at the coast of the delta, perhaps opposite Margate. River barges, and later, rail, would then transport goods to London. This would likely also have shifted the development of London, with urban expansion moving to be nearer this harbour town.
If you are interested in land east of London, look up the Dogger Bank, Doggerland, and the events thought to leading to its demise. Absolutely fascinating.
It’d be a hotbed of Blues. I’d love to hear Howlin’ Pigeon’s Thames Delta blues live album from 1977.
Comments are closed.