Mapping the River Sid

The Sid Isn’t A Complex River, It’s Relatively Short & Has Few Tributaries. But Rivers Are Fractal In Nature & Every Tributary Also Has Tributaries Which Leads To A Beautiful Complex of Biodiversity.

Mapping the River Sid is something that has intrigued me since I hopped over the hills from the Culm valley to live here. The Sid is far shorter than many other Devon rivers and is unique in so many other ways. In fact it could be argued that the Sid is the shortest river in the country. It certainly is as a river that rises and goes to sea in a single parish!

But how common are rivers and how complex is the fractal nature of rivers?

Here is a map I’ve produced of all the rivers in the country and the immediate comment I get is that we are a country of rivers. It’s impossible to be far from a river, brook or stream in most counties. And even in the areas of the Wash, Somerset levels and similar the absence of natural waterways is made upon by manmade waterways. We are a fluvial nation!

But what of the Sid Valley?

The following map is of the River Sid catchment and has been produced by Simon Browning. It uses a LiDAR produced image, superimposed on a map, using the QGIS mapping system to show both the river and contours of the Sid Valley and specifically the river Sid and its tributaries.

River Sid Catchment map — River Sid Catchment

Personally I find the complexity of our local river fascinating. Especially when at this resolution not all the smaller streams and seasonal catchment tributaries are apparent.

There will be more about the river in future posts.

With thanks to Simon Browning, the Environment Agency LiDAR data and scamp.org.uk.